The Vinculum

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This is a fanfic I've been working on for a while now. It's an action/adventure/comedy/drama kind of fic, dealing with what I feel would happen after Majora's Mask. This takes place with a nearly 13 year old Link trying to get back to Hyrule, and what he finds there. There's a little bit of Kasuto-ness in this, but I've got my own style I'm still perfecting, so enjoy!

The Legend of Zelda: Return to Darkness

Written by brian2040

Disclaimer: I own my original characters, but I do not own anything related towards the Zelda franchise.

A/N: I'm back, and decided to write this story all over again. The last version had more holes in it than swiss cheese blown apart by C4. I got 50 reviews with it, but this is going to be a brand new start, so we'll see how this works.

-I've been gone for nearly three years now... and I haven't found what I've been looking for. As I grow older, the less motivated I am. All I want to do now is go home, but how far away am I?-

Chapter 1: The Prisoner

It was late afternoon, and a young boy, around thirteen, made his way through the snow covered paths of an open field. He and his horse, named Epona, had seen many things over their journeys together, but they both shared the same thing. Homesickness; it had gotten the most of them, and their last journey, the journey home had begun. The boy didn't know where to start, and no one would help him find his way when he asked them.

"Look there, Epona," he said as he pointed, "you see that city? Maybe someone could help us there." He patted his horse, and steered her towards the city, but Epona stopped.

"What's wrong, Epona? We're less than a mile away!" He said. Epona grunted, and stayed put.

"Oh come on, I'm not that heavy." Epona grunted again, and kicked some snow over to eat some grass. The boy, named Link, really wasn't big at all. He stood at a mere 4'10'' and weighed 85 pounds.

"Fine," Link sighed, "I'll walk." He got off his horse and led her towards the city. There was about six inches of snow on the ground, and the temperature was falling quickly as the sun was setting. Link shivered and looked towards the sky and frowned. It was starting to snow again, and the temperature was dropping at an alarming rate. As much as he hated seeking shelter right outside of the city, he felt like he had to. The cold weather was too much for him to bare walking any further and then look for an inn. Link scanned the open area around him and found an abandoned looking house to his right.

"That should be a good place to get warm, right Epona?" Link said, grabbing the reins and walking toward the house. Link tied Epona up to a small tree, and reached into his bag. He pulled a horse blanket out and placed it over his horse to keep her warm.

"Okay, you should be fine now. Time for me to get warm," Link said as he opened the door and walked in.

Once he closed the door, he walked forward into the living room and immediately regretted setting foot anywhere near the house. There were about ten men sitting in the middle of that room, sharpening their swords. They looked like highwaymen, and being stuck in the middle of a room with ten of them is not a good thing. Link tried to stay as quiet as he could, but when he stepped back toward the door, a piece of wood paneling on the floor creaked loudly, and got their attention. All the sudden, all the bandits got up and armed themselves and advanced on Link. Link put his hands up, seeing that he was basically surrounded.

"Who the hell are you, kid?" One of the larger bandits boomed.

"Who the hell cares, he's seen us already, just kill him!"

"Why don't we ask the boss?"

All of the bandits got into a racket about what they should do with Link, and then all the sudden they went quiet. Link saw a man with platinum blonde hair walk out one of the rooms, holding a rapier. He was quite tall, standing at 6'3'', but was also quite slender. He was wearing white and blue armor, and had a white scarf wrapped around his neck loosely.

"Have I... missed anything?" the man said in a smooth, deep voice.

"What do you want us to do with this shrimp?" The large bandit asked, "He saw everything, sir."

"Did he now?" the boss said, "hmmmmm..."

There was an awkward silence as the boss started to ponder his decision. Link gulped loudly as he was trying to loosen the latch on the door without anyone noticing.

"Kill him."

Right when the bandits charged, Link loosened the latch and fell right through the door. He tumbled back right before the bandits stabbed at him, and pulled out his gilded sword. Sensing unavoidable conflict, Link cut the reins to his horse.

"Epona, run!" Link yelled. His horse took off, and Link got himself ready for a fight. Two bandits armed with swords charged out of the house. Link parried one out of the way, and managed to hit another one right in the solar plexus with the hilt of his sword, knocking him out. The other bandit recovered and lunged at Link, but tripped in the thick snow. Link promptly kicked him in the face and incapacitated him as well. Then another bandit charged him and got ready to slice downward, but Link slid under him and kneed him right in the groin. This caused the man to shriek in pain and double over. Link hit him over he head with his hilt, rendering him unconscious as well. Then, two more bandits charged him from both his right and his left side. Right when they reached full speed, Link stepped back out of their path. They tried to correct their paths, but couldn't due to the thick snow, and ended up tripping and colliding their heads with each other, knocking them out. Link readied himself again, and noticed four of the bandits cowering away, leaving the largest bandit, who happened to be armed with a claymore that was about the same size as Link was.

"You think you can defeat the Messengers of Hatred?"

Link looked up at his new opponent and laughed a little. Partially out of amusement, and partially out of fear.

"Messengers of Hatred? That's the worst gang name I've ever heard!" Link answered as he readied his sword for an attack.

"Now you die!" the bandit roared. Link got ready for the heavyset man to charge at him like a bull, but he was surprised at how fast that large man was, and had barely any time to block the downward slash of the man's child sized claymore. Link's trusty gilded sword was shattered on contact, but Link was just able to get out of the way of the claymore making its way through his sword. Link flipped away, and threw the remnants of his sword at the bandit, hoping it hit him. The man slapped the hilt away, and threw his claymore at Link. Link ducked, and felt the claymore glide right over his back, cutting his through his coat and shirt, but luckily not through the skin. Before he could recover, Link felt himself being lifted off the ground and hitting a wall very hard. The bandit apparently took advantage of Link's distraction and grabbed Link by the neck and pinned him against the wall. Link struggled for air as the man's gigantic hand constricted around his neck.

"I'll choke the life out of you!" the bandit yelled as Link grabbed the man's hand in an effort to pull it away. Realizing that effort was futile, Link did the only thing he could think of. He spread his index and middle fingers and poked his potential strangler in the eyes. The man yelped in pain as he let go of Link in order to attend to his eyes. Link took advantage and then kicked his attacker straight in the groin, causing the bandit to scream in pain and double over. Link fell back through the door, into the house, and started gasping for air as he was finally free of the stranglehold. Once he recovered, he noticed the large man standing at the doorway, with something large held over his head, and what looked like a spark emanating out of a string sticking out of it. Link knew exactly what it was, and he scrambled to his feet, and stepped back until he realized he was cornered against a wall.

"Now you die!" the man said as he threw it at Link. The powder keg rolled on the ground towards Link, who reacted by running straight at a window. Link jumped through it right when the keg exploded, and the whole entire house erupted into a huge explosion, with shards of wood and glass flying everywhere. Link landed in the snow outside and took cover under a piece of what used to be the front porch. Once the explosion settled, Link got out from his cover and saw all the wreckage. Link collapsed to a sitting position as he felt the heat of the wood burning from the house bring him some relief from the cold. Then, Link felt a blade press up against his neck. Link looked up and saw the boss right over him, with several guards behind him.

"Justiciar Essen! Are you all right sir?" One of the guards asked.

"About damn time you showed up! Do you realize what I've had to do to fight off these bandits?" The Justiciar said. Link looked at him in shock, and then he realized what was going on. He was going to be framed by the man who was leading the bandits, and apparently the police as well.

"Arrest him, he was one of them," Essen said. He motioned for his guards to come get Link; Link felt both his arms being grabbed and then he was forced to his feet. Link glared at the Justiciar, but didn't say anything. The Justiciar looked back town at Link, and then pulled something off his belt. Suddenly, Link felt an almost unbearable searing pain in his shoulder, so much so that it made Link delirious, and start to lose consciousness.

"I'd hate to be you when you wake up," the Justicar said, and then turned turned to one of the guards, "now take him away!"

JAIL

A young man was sitting in a small jail cell, just staring at the ground. He had less than an hour until his execution in front of the whole city. He was not the tallest person, but not the shortest, standing at 5'10''. He had long jet black hair that was becoming increasingly more disheveled, and was now growing a thin beard. His musing was interrupted when he saw the cell door fly open in front of him. A guard came in holding a young boy.

"Hey, Phane! You got someone to talk to for the last few minutes of your miserable life!" the guard said as he threw the unconscious Link into the cell. Before he hit the ground, Phane caught him and lowered him to the ground. He looked back at the guard and glowered. The guard just chuckled a bit, and then shut the cell door and locked it and walked off. Phane waited a minute until it was quiet again and then concentrated on welcoming his new cellmate.

"Hey, kid, wake up!" Phane said he shook Link. Link's eyes cracked open as Phane laid him to the ground. Link started to sit up and gather his surroundings while trying to fight off a sudden wave of nausea. He felt horrible.

"Good, you're awake," Phane said as he saw Link sitting up. Phane crouched down to eye level with Link, "how're you feeling?" Link crawled over, and got on his hands and knees, and looked at the ground to try and fight his dizziness.

"I feel like I'm gonna..." Link said before he stopped himself to try and restrain himself from throwing up. Phane noticed Link attempt to fight a wave of nausea and handed Link a bucket. Link snatched it just before he lost it, and was able to throw up in the bucket. After an almost endless amount of heaving, Link felt the nausea pass, and put the bucket on the other side of the cell.

"You're in jail," Phane said, blankly. He wasn't someone to sugar-coat things. It took a second for it to register with Link, who was still slightly delirious from whatever happened to him. The memories of his arrest were coming back to him.

"That Justiciar guy..." Link said, scanning his memory.

"Essen, he was the man who got me arrested," Phane chimed in while sitting back down. Link said nothing and sat down on the other side of the cell.

"What are you in for?" Link asked, trying to start a conversation with this man. He didn't know why, but this man didn't seem like one of the ruthless criminals he would've thought would be in jail.

"Kind of a long story, kid," Phane said while looking down at his tattered clothes.

"It's not like I'm going anywhere," Link answered, tearing off a piece of cloth from his shirt to make a bandage from where he was stuck in the shoulder by Justiciar Essen.

"I guess you're right," answered Phane, "Now, where should I begin? Well, you see, this town is in a great geological position for the High King back in Toryn City. Obviously, he wanted to put most of his time into developing this city more and more because of its proximity to the coast. It's good for trade, and so far his plan had worked. I moved to Taea back when I was about your age from a country to the east because my father was a fisherman and this city might be one of the best ones for that. Anyways, I eventually got tired of working under my father, and when he died, I joined the army and was made an officer a few years back. I worked my way up and got to the point where King Toryn wanted to make me Justiciar of this city. Essen, who was working with me at the time, apparently wasn't too happy with that and wanted the title for himself, so he had several of my commanding officers murdered and framed me for it. Now he has the title and I'll be meeting the headsman soon."

Link was surprised on how blunt Phane told him about his impending doom. Obviously the anger and fear that Phane was harboring had regressed into cynicism.

"So you're going to die because you were framed so Essen can pursue his ambitions," Link said, "if I were you, I'd be pretty angry."

"It's not like I can do anything to fix it, and as much as I want to see Essen get what he deserves, not many people will be willing to listen to me, " Phane said, "So you never told me how you ended up here."

Link shrugged, "Well, I fought off a bunch of bandits who were working for Essen, and he ended up being able to frame me into being one of the bandits that he 'supposedly' took care of."

Phane smiled weakly, "Framed too, eh? It sucks being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"That seems to happen to me more than I'd like," Link admitted. Phane snickered a little; he was beginning to like this kid, shame he wouldn't know him for too much longer.

"I never got your name," Link said, breaking the short silence. Phane straightened out his beard with his hands, and then answered.

"Phane," he said, holding out his hand to Link. Link shook his hand, and then responded,

"I'm Link, nice to meet you."

"Yeah, nice to know you too," Phane said, and then sat back in the corner and looked at the ceiling.

"You said you were from a country to the east," Link stated, "Which one?"

"Hyrule," Phane answered. A huge rush of hope went right through Link when he realized that this man is potentially the person who could get him back home, but then the door to the cell block flew open, and a guard came in to grab Phane. Phane got to his feet, and was led through the door. On his way out, Phane nodded to Link, and Link did the same to Phane. Link knew he had to save this person somehow. He knew that if he wanted to get home, he would have to escape, and he had to do it now...

A/N: Well, how was it? This is a rewrite again, not major from the previous version, but the story makes a lot more sense now that I plotted a whole scheme for the devious Justiciar Essen. I'm hoping to get more chapters out faster now that I actually have some time to write and the creative juices are flowing.

Last edited by brian_2040 on Mon May 20, 2013 5:35 am, edited 1 time in total.

A/N: Man, a lot has happened in the years that's gone by, and I haven't even really tried to get this chapter out because I'm so busy. But look! A new chapter! After such a long time! Say it ain't so! … In retrospect, I could've done the previous chapter a lot better than it was, but the past is literally, the past. This is a brand new chapter forged out of 2 FREAKING YEARS OF WRITER'S BLOCK. But, happily, several xbox live parties, skype conversations, epic fights on bridges, and Soul Calibur games later, I have enough ideas to keep this story going, and best of all, keep it interesting.

Link knew that he didn't have much time to save his new friend from impending doom, so he acted quickly. He had planned on escaping anyway, but now he didn't have time to come up with a good strategy, so he improvised. He was lucky enough to find a large bone of some kind, and with a couple cracks against the stone wall, he had a good enough edge to try to pry away the lock. Link wedged the edge of the broken bone against the lock and the door's base, and pushed as hard as he could, hoping that the force would warp the door enough for him to be able to force it open.

"Come on," Link said as he applied the rest of his weight against the lock, and sure enough, the lock broke and the door opened. Link quickly ran over to the main door and looked through the key hole to see if there were any guards outside, but it looked like they were either switching guard, or just not guarding at all because they were taking Phane to be executed. Regardless, it didn't seem like anyone was at all afraid he was about to leave. Link took a few seconds to try to catch his breath, whatever Justiciar Essen injected into him was still affecting him, but nausea was the least of his worries.

He made his way to the end of the hall where there was a door. Quietly, Link creaked open the door and found a guard asleep at the desk, and a small chest in the corner, where Link assumed his belongings were. He got behind the guard and found a dagger on the table behind the guard. Not wanting the guard to wake up at a bad time, Link took the dagger and smacked the guard over the head with the hilt, ensuring Link that the guard wouldn't wake up anytime soon. Link strapped the dagger to his belt, and then removed the keyring from the guard, and then unlocked the chest.

Link retrieved his ocarina and jacket from the chest, and then set his attention to everything else in the room. Link checked another smaller case and found a bombchu inside. After stocking up, Link opened the other door inside the room and found a smaller hallway, which surely was the way out. He opened the door at the end of the hallway and was immediately hit by the cool winter air. After looking to his left and finding the plaza where Phane was about to be executed, Link ran to a better vantage point. There was now a good-sized crowd forming, and Link spotted Phane being led to the headsman's block. He was running out of time, and he needed to create a distraction so he could go and save his new friend.

The exit he had taken was to the exterior wall of the city, so he was able to move around a lot faster without being spotted as being suspicious. He got to a good spot behind the platform, and got his bombchu out, hoping to scatter the crowd that had formed. Link heard voices in the distance, and it sounded like they were giving Phane his last rites, which meant that it was a good time to activate his bombchu while people were slightly off guard. He put it on the ground and saw it travel along the wall, down to the outside of the crowd, like he wanted, so no one would get hurt. He drew his dagger and got ready to jump down to the platform. The bombchu made its way down to a small warehouse that was housing a few powder kegs. The gigantic explosion that ensued scattered the crowd, and left a hole in the wall, which ended up being a good place to exit from. While the guards were still stunned because of the explosion, Link jumped down and landed on the headsman, taking him to the ground. Link recovered fast and kicked the headsman in the face, and cut the ropes from Phane's hands.

"We're getting out of here, Phane! Let's go!" Link said as he fought off another guard. Phane, realizing that Link was there to free him, took on a guard that tried to stab him. After punching the guard in the face, he flipped him over his shoulder, and delivered a knock out punch to the guard's face. "Come on!" Link said, as he grabbed Phane and started running towards the new hole in the wall.

"Right," Phane replied as he broke Link's grip and ran with him, through the hole, and out into the snow-covered field.

"After them!" A guard yelled from back inside the city, and a few guards starting running towards the hole in the wall too. However, the last of the powder kegs exploded, and sent the guards back, and collapsing the wall.

"Whoa!" Link said as he saw what happened behind them.

"That should slow them down, the woods aren't that..." Phane said, but then cried out in agony when arrows hit him in his back and in his lower leg. Phane hit the ground hard, and Link had to slow down and help Phane up.

"Damn," Link said as he supported Phane on one of his shoulders. It wasn't easy to move him, but Link persevered, and they made it to the cover of the woods. Link knew that he had to lose the guards who were pursuing them quickly, so he changed his route to go more towards his west, staying around the more shallow parts of the forest. Everything seemed to quiet down, and Link could no longer hear guards yelling, which meant that he had lost them, at least temporarily. After a little while, Link knew he had to treat Phane's wounds quickly, or risk him dying from his arrow wounds. After finding a small cave, Link set Phane down on his side, gently, and gathered what little bit of dry kindling he could find. Using his dagger and a rock, he started a small fire and added a few sticks to let it last. He walked over to Phane, who was definitely bleeding heavily. He was still conscious, but the arrows definitely crippled him.

"I've got to remove those arrows from your body, it won't be exactly... pleasant," Link said.

"Can't do that, I'm not leaving you behind," Link replied as he knelt at Phane's side, examining his wounds. "The arrows didn't go in deep, once I can stop the bleeding and bandage them up, you should be fine," Link said, and then ripped a little bit of the cloth away on Phane's shoulder, exposing the wound.

"It looks like they were bobkins, so they won't be hard to remove. You ready?" Link asked, getting in a good position to remove the arrow. Phane nodded, and Link jerked hard, removing the arrow with little resistance.

"That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, really," Link said, "But this one in your leg is going to really hurt, try not to make too much noise." With that, Link pulled the second arrow, to Phane's angered moaning. Link placed the two arrows in front of Phane, and then went over to the fire. "Give me a second and I'll make you some bandages," Link said as he removed his jacket and folded it. Link shivered a bit, thanks to his newfound exposure to the elements. He looked back at Phane and realized that he was at least fortunate to be wearing fairly heavy clothes, so he would remain warm.

Good thing I found my jacket, Link thought as he set his jacket down on a rock, making sure his Ocarina was tucked in safe, I've got to find Epona too, but I need to do that after I lose these guys for good. I hope she's okay. Link looked back at Phane, who was still recovering from the removal of the arrows.

"Why'd you save me?" Phane asked, seemingly calming down from what happened. The cool weather was starting to help his blood clot, but Link still needed to seal it or else he would bleed out.

"Because I'm a Hylian too," Link said, "I wouldn't ever leave a friend behind either." Link grinned a bit, and then said "I'm going to have to seal your wounds. Normally, I'd stitch them up, but since I don't have proper material for that, we're going to have to fix that problem the other way."

"Yeah, I can take it," Phane said, as he nodded his approval, "it's been a while since I've seen someone from my homeland..."

"Same here, now relax, it won't take me long to make you some proper bandages so I can finish mending you." Link shivered a little bit more, and then took his shirt off, and ripped it in several places to make some large sized bandages and some thin strips of cloth. He put the dagger close to the fire, and started to heat it up.

"We're not going to be able to stay here for long with this fire, we're going to have to go deeper soon," Link said to Phane as he took some of the cloth bandages outside as rubbed them in the snow to crust them in ice.

"This should help with the burn to seal it better," Link said as he brought the bandages back inside the small cave. Using another piece of cloth, Link retrieved the dagger and went over to Phane again.

"Ready or not, I guess," Link mumbled. He had always hated the smell of burning, and especially burning flesh. Phane nodded, and Link pressed the hot dagger against Phane's wound, creating a small sizzling sound. Phane took one of the arrows and bit onto it, so he wouldn't make a sound and handle the pain batter.

"All done with that one," Link said as he put one of the iced bandages onto Phane's back, starting to help relieve him of some of the pain from the burn. "And now... the leg," Link muttered as he repeated the process on Phane's leg, and pressed a bandage to that one as well. After using the long sloth straps to hold the bandages in place, Link threw the dagger into the snow to cool it down.

Link rubbed his arms a bit and then walked over and put his jacket on, feeling the warmth returning to him as well. Making sure his ocarina was safe, Link put his hands to the fire to at least warm them up. Unfortunately, the fatigue from the incident was starting to be multiplied by the comfort of the fire. Although he was exhausted, Link knew it was just a matter of time before the guards would find him at the cave, so he retrieved the cooled dagger and sheathed it, and put the fire out by dropping gobs of snow onto it.

"Okay, time to get you up," Link said as he grabbed Phane's left arm and but it around his shoulders, and Link lifted Phane up to where he could support him. "We've got a bit to go, I think" Link said as he started to drag himself and Phane out of the cave and through the forest.

"You... are remarkably strong for your size." Phane said as he tried to at least support a little bit of his weight, but he didn't have the strength since he had lost quite a bit of blood.

"I try, this isn't as easy as it looks," Link said while gritting his teeth. Phane's weight was definitely taking its toll on Link's strength, but he knew he had to persevere to a better place to at least get some rest. They walked on for about an hour, not knowing where or how far they had gotten, but the forest just stayed the same.

"I guess it's not a bad time to say thanks for saving me," Phane said, "I don't really know what to do now that I'm free."

"We'll... concentrate... on that part... when we're actually... out of their reach... shall we?" Link said, now really straining to keep Phane up. Link was sweating heavily, which made him shiver because of the cold weather, and lose even more strength.

"Kid, you need to rest, I won't be strong enough to pick you up if you end up passing out," Phane warned, "Keeping this up will kill both of us."

"No... we must... keep going... we're... still... being... tracked...," Link said as his walking coordination was starting to go. They had arrived at a small clearing, and snow had piled up on the interior, creating a thick blanket. Link looked up at the clearing, and then decided to take a step through the clearing. Suddenly, they heard a crack, and then Link slipped, sending Phane landing on his side, smacking his head against a rotting log, dazing him. The clearing they had stepped onto was actually a frozen pond, and they had stepped onto thin ice.

Even though Phane landed on solid earth, Link fell through the thin ice, and into the frigid water. Link was totally submerged, and Phane, knowing that he didn't have much time to save his young friend's life, mustered the little strength he had to stumble over there, and grab Link's hand which was sinking into the water.

"RAAAAH!" Phane screamed as he pulled Link out of the water. Apparently, the impact against the ice and the water had knocked Link out, and Phane dragged Link's limp body to the shore of the pond.

"He's probably got water in his lungs," Phane said to himself as he unbuttoned Link's jacket and started pushing on Link's chest.

"Come on, kid, breathe," Phane said as he used what little strength he could to push the water out of Link's lungs. Link coughed and hacked water up, and then started to shiver. Phane rolled off of Link and then pulled Link closer to him in a futile effort to warm him up. Phane was now panting heavily, having used all his strength, and the whole world was starting to go dim... The last thing Phane saw before blacking out was a red human-lizard creature running towards them.

Heh... I could think of worse ways to go...

A/N: There we go! The most difficult chapter I've written so far! It probably shows, but it might not be my best chapter either, but I hope you liked it!

A/N: Well, how about that, I've gotten this one out in a timely manner! I can call that an improvement, I think!

Where am I? Am I... dead?

Phane's eyes cracked open, and found himself looking at a bedroom that was built into a cave. He was lying down on a bed, which was strangely comfortable, even though it looked quite crude. The bedroom was dimly lit, but he was able to spot someone sitting in the corner.

"I see you're awake," the figure in the corner said, "I'm glad at least one of you have woken up."

The figure then stood up and walked into the light, and Phane's eyes widened.

"You're a..." Phane started, not quite feeling sure if he should feel scared, or shocked, or both.

"Talk? Yes, my whole tribe could, but they're very far from here, I wasn't really one for staying put. I like the adventure."

"Yeah, but you're... red," Phane said, actually finishing a sentence without J'on finishing it for him.

"You noticed that, huh?" J'on said, filling up a glass of water, "I'm a crimson Lizalfo from the island of Kontaro, to the southwest of here. We're a bit more... well-versed and dossile than our feral green bretheren."

"I've never met a crimson Lizalfo before," Phane said, trying to sit up a bit.

"And I'll probably be the only one," J'on said, "My kind's not exactly the most... intrepid. Anyways, you should get some fluids in your system, help you gather your strength faster. You were in pretty rough shape when I got you here."

"Yeah," Phane said, starting to try to remember just how he ended up in a cave inhabited by a social, versed, and crimson Lizalfo.

"You've been out for a few hours or so; it looked like you'd gotten hit by a couple of arrows, but someone did a fairly good job patching you up," J'on said, handing Phane a glass of water.

"Yeah, he did do a good job," Phane said, and then realized he was forgetting about someone.

"What about Link?" Phane said, remembering what J'on had already said, "he's a kid, has blonde hair; I was with him last I remember."

"He should be fine, but he's still asleep in the den. He was in worse shape than you were since he was soaked and had a pretty nasty crack on his head when I found him," J'on said.

Phane sighed in relief now that he knew the person who saved his life had also survived their close brush with death.

"We should probably get you up and moving," J'on said, "Come on, I won't bite, I promise."

"...All right," Phane said as he tried standing up for the first time since he had been shot by the arrows. After almost falling, he managed to prop himself up on the wall until his legs could get used to the weight again.

"You take it easy," J'on warned, "Your body has to get used to being productive again after being out of action."

"Yeah, I think I'll be fine," Phane said as he started to walk slowly to the door. His leg throbbed, but the pain was managable. What he was still concerned about was the wellness of the person who saved his life twice, so he soldiered on and opened the door out to the den. They were in a small house built inside of a small cave, so even though the floors and ceiling were rock or dirt, it was still cozy. Phane looked down at the sofa and saw Link sleeping on his side there, wrapped up in several fur blankets and had a bandage on his head, apparently where he had impacted the ice earlier.

"He's been out for just as long as you have. Of course, he was going into hypothermia quickly, so he was obviously the first recipient of my treatment because all you seemed to need to do was regenerate your strength.," J'on said.

"Yeah, let him rest a bit more, he was exhausted anyways because he had dragged me for so long," Phane said, "I don't suppose you get too many people out this way, do you?"

"Not really, no. Although the past couple of days has been interesting because first I find a horse, then I hear a large explosion coming from the town a couple of miles west of here, and then you two go and pass out at my pond, and then there were soldiers that came through looking for two people," J'on said, "You all have something to do with that?"

"I guess you can say that," Phane confessed, not sure J'on was thinking.

"You don't like the guards?" Phane asked, starting to feel a bit relieved.

"No reason to, they aren't really nice to my kind. Guess they have good reason to not like lizalfos in general, but at least they could listen to one if they're trying to be peaceful. If you don't mind me asking, what did you do to get the headsman's axe anyways?"

"Being in someone's ambition's way, really. The 'Justiciar' there wanted the title I was going to get, so he framed me for murdering my team, and got me sentenced to death for fragicide."

"And then?"

"Then, while I was waiting to be taken to the block, a few guards dumped Link in there, who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and Justiciar Essen threw him in there to shut him up about some bandit operation he was helping run. Greedy bastard, that one," Phane said, "Next thing I know, the priestess there is reading me my last rites, and then a wall explodes, Link knocks the headsman out, and he drags me through the new hole in the wall. We did good for a while, and then I got hit by a couple of arrows. He patched me up and dragged my ass all the way out here. Remarkable, that's for sure."

"Sounds like you owe him your life," J'on said, "I have to admit, I find it hard to believe that a small kid like that is capable of what you're saying he did, but you're here, and the evidence supports it really."

"Yeah, I do. Kind of gave me a new chance somewhere else too," Phane said, "but I'll follow him wherever he wants to go, I owe him that much."

"Yes, how about we wake him up? I'm sure you two are pretty hungry," J'on said.

"Yeah, I'll get him up," Phane said, walking over to the sofa where Link was sleeping. Phane shook Link gently, and saw his eyes crack open.

"Hey, kid, you okay?" Phane said, helping Link sit up a bit.

Link blinked a few times, and scratched his head, where he noticed the presence of the bandage.

"I'm okay, my head hurts pretty bad though," Link said, trying to fight some dizzyness. Whatever he hit his head on, he hit it hard.

"Yeah, you hit the ice pretty hard," Phane said, "I was just able to pull you out of the water, but then our friend J'on here came and got us and patched you up."

Link turned his gaze over to J'on, blinked, and then his eyes widened.

"You're a lizalfo!" Link said, realizing who was actually standing across from him.

"Yes, I am," J'on said, crossing his arms as he talked.

"You can talk?" Link asked, now obviously surprised. He had never met a talking lizalfo before.

"Yes, I can."

"You're... red..." Link said, he was out of questions already.

"You noticed that, huh?" J'on said, making Phane grin because it was the same conversation he had earlier.

Link fell silent, and bundled himself into his blankets again, feeling cold even though he was near the fireplace.

"When I found you two, you were soaked, and I had to get you warmed up first, so I bundled you into a few blankets and stuck you next to the fireplace and and started drying your clothes, they should be done soon, for the meantime I put you in some I found earlier," J'on said.

"Both of us were out for a few hours," Phane said, picking up where J'on left off, "The guards have apparently already been through this area, but J'on here doesn't really want to have anything to do with them."

"So that means we've lost them?" Link asked, sitting up again, and just rearranging the blankets to keep him warm.

"Yeah, we lost them," Phane said, "Which means you can rest easy for a little bit, if you want."

"Okay, I'll do that," Link said, laying back down, "I'm just glad it's mostly over with though. We've got to get out of here soon though, make our way out of the country."

"You're right about that," Phane said, "Closest town's about 30 or so miles away. It's a nice city called Clearwater. Might be able to get some cash there, and then head over to Toryn City to get a ship."

"That's an idea," Link said, "but at least we can wait until our strength is back. I hate to impose on you more, J'on, but..."

"Don't mention it," J'on said, raising a scaly hand in the air, "You two are the first people who haven't attacked me on sight, so please, stay as long as you like. Besides, if you all are heading off to the coast, I might want to tag along, I'm in the mood for a little bit of adventure anyways."

Link and Phane looked at each other, and nodded, basically telling J'on that he was welcome to tag along with them.

"All right, you should get up, I think J'on's getting some food ready," Phane said as he helped Link up out of the bed, keeping him wrapped in the blankets. It was obvious that he hadn't quite warmed up from his previous ordeal, so he hadn't quite gotten over the shivering fits yet.

"Guess you're a bit more spent than I am, huh?" Phane said, helping Link walk over to the table behind the sofa.

"I ought to be after how far I dragged you," Link retorted as he sat down in one of the chairs at the table.

"Still haven't lost your wit though," J'on said, grabbing a pot from its rack on the fireplace, "I hope you all like leek soup, it's all that's growing right now around here."

"I'm fine with that," Link said, "I'm not necessarily picky when it comes to anything with vegetables in it anyways."

"What don't you like?" Phane asked, trying to at least get to know something about his new friend.

"Fish; I can't stand it," Link said, "I've been around it so much I don't want it anymore."

"Fair enough, I guess," J'on said starting to spoon some soup into a few wooden bowls and handing them to Link and Phane before sitting down, "Of course, it's usually what I eat around here, unless the pond's frozen like it is. Of course, I could go and hunt, and bring back a lot since I found that horse, but I don't want to push that horse more than I should."

Link dropped his spoon into his bowl, realizing that J'on had a horse.

"When did you find that horse?" Link asked, trying to put a time table to his own, "And what color is it?"

"It's brown with a white mane, and I found it last night. Still a young one too," J'on said, resuming eating his soup.

"Did you find an Ocarina on me when you found me?" Link asked, hopeful that his two prized possessions were still intact.

"Yeah, it's on top of the mantelpiece. You should eat first before you try doing some other things," J'on said, pointing to the still full bowl in front of Link.

Link sighed; J'on was right, he needed his strength back, he could barely walk already, and even though he was unconscious for a few hours, he was still exhausted from his earlier ordeal. He took a few bites of his soup, and was surprised at how good it was.

Hey, this Lizalfo can cook! Link thought as he started to eat a bit more of it, Learn something new every day.

"Good news is that once you two are strong enough to set out, we'll be able to travel a lot easier because of the horse. I guess we'll let you ride it if you want, Link," J'on said, refilling his bowl.

"Yeah, might as well catch a little bit of a break, I need to keep putting weight on this leg anyways to get its strength back, so feel free," Phane said, also refilling his bowl of soup. Link grinned a little and looked towards the exit of the cave. It was night time, which meant that if they were to get a good night's rest, they would probably be able to set out the next morning.

They all finished dinner, and J'on took the bowls from them. Phane stood up and walked over to Link, and held out his hand.

"Here, let's get you off to bed before we head out of here in the morning, you'll need all your strength back," Phane said as he helped Link back to his feet and walked him back to the sofa and laid him down.

"Yeah, I'm not dragging you anywhere anymore," Link said as he got himself comfortable.

"Yeah, I've got that chair over there," Phane said as he grabbed another blanket from a shelf near the fireplace.

"Well, I'll see you two in the morning," J'on said, heading off to his room, "Night..."

"Night," Link and Phane said as J'on closed his door. The room fell silent for a little bit, and then Phane piped up.

"Can't believe just a few hours ago I was about to be executed," Phane said, as he shifted in the chair a little, "I don't know what to think about what's happened, but for what it's worth, thanks for saving my head... literally."

Phane looked over and saw that Link was already asleep and totally didn't hear what he had said.

Well, at least that's rehearsed for later...

NEXT MORNING...

Link was the first one to wake up the next morning, partially out of excitement to finally go on a new adventure with some friends, and also to see if J'on really had his horse. After grabbing his now dried jacket from the line near the fireplace, he got dressed, put his boots on, and headed outside, and sure enough, behind a small gate, there was Epona.

"Epona!" Link exclaimed as he ran over to her, "I'm glad you're okay, I was worried." Link pet Epona and headed back to the cave to see if anyone was awake.

I was certain I lost her for good this time, Link thought as he headed back into the cave. Sure enough, J'on was awake and seemed to be packing some food into a bag. Phane was also awake, helping pack up some other supplies as well.

"I see you're awake and moving around better," Phane said, stuffing some blankets into a bag, "Grab anything you want to take with you, we're leaving soon."

"Got it," Link said as he grabbed his ocarina from the mantelpiece, unbuttoned his jacket, and placed the Ocarina of Time into the internal pocket of his jacket.

"How're you doing now, Phane?" Link asked, as he picked up one of the already packed bags and put it over his shoulder.

"A bit achy, but you did a great job fixing me up, I'll be fine," Phane said, "I can take a bit of pain."

"No problem," Link said, "Are you all ready to go? We need to get to Clearwater as soon as we can."

"Let's not waste any time then," J'on said, "Come on, going." J'on put a hood on to kind of disguise himself a bit, and walked out in front of Link and Phane. Link and Phane followed J'on out, and Link unhooked Epona from the post she was tied to.

"Looks like we're heading off to Clearwater now," Link said to his horse as he packed her up. Even though the bag of things he had on her when he last saw here was gone, he was glad to at least have the Ocarina with him. Of course, that meant they had no money, and he had no spare supplies of his own.

"Looks like we're going to have to make some money when we get to Clearwater," Link said as he mounted his horse.

"Yeah, we will," Phane said as he walked along side and watched Link guide Epona out of the little pen she was in, "That horse seems to like you already."

"That's because this is actually... my horse," Link said, "I cut her free when I was attacked by bandits before I got arrested. Didn't want her to get hurt or stolen."

"So you mean that I found your horse all the way out here? Talk about lucky," J'on said as he walked along Epona as well, "Does she have a name?"

"Yeah. Epona," Link said, "She's actually owned by the daughter of the Lon Lon Ranch's Owner back in Hyrule. She kind of... bequeathed her to me when I left there three years ago."

"Lon Lon Ranch... I remember when they were actually just starting off before I left with my father," Phane said, "Might be interesting to see if they've grown."

"They were pretty big when I was there," Link said, "they had a good thing going there. I'd like to see them again."

"Well, yeah, that too. She's a good friend," Link said, seemingly ignoring what Phane was inscinuating, "I'm sure Epona would want to see her too."

"Guess so, yeah," Phane said, as they kept walking on for hours...

HOURS LATER:

Link, Phane, and J'on were approaching the city of Clearwater. It was a fairly large city, with lots of activity on its streets with shops lining the main road through the city. A thin layer of snow coated the cobblestone streets. And several dark blue banners decorated the buildings.

"Mind if you watch Epona for us, J'on? We're going to see if we can find ourselves a ship. I'd try to stay out of the way though," Link said as he dismounted his horse as they walked into the city.

"Don't worry about me, I know how to blend in," J'on said, "It's not that hard in a busy city like this."

"We'll be a little bit, make sure you get comfortable," Phane said as he and Link got ready to make their way through the city.

"Got it, I'll find you all, I've got your scents," J'on said, sitting down in the corner of an alley.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Phane said, a bit creeped out that he was starting to feel like prey, "Anyways, you ready to go?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," Link said, giving J'on the rest of the bags. They made their way out to the main street, where there were busy shops and people conversing.

"I kind of like it here, it seems busy," Link said, "It's a lot more alive than a lot of the cities I've been to."

"Yeah, but we need to get some money, and quickly," Phane said, "We need to rent a boat the moment we hit Toryn City, so we need to be prepared."

"I think we're going to be here for a few days," Link said, "We might as well check at the inn to see if there is some work there, might be a bounty or something we can collect on."

"Yeah, like mine and yours."

"Point taken, but what choice do we have? I don't think word has reached here anyways," Link said, "They definitely didn't chase us to Clearwater, or else we wouldn'tve made it into the city."

Phane stood for a moment, thinking heavily, not sure whether to risk bounties, or to play it safe.

Right when they were almost to the inn, there was a shout and then a door broke down and a child around Link's age rolled off of the broken door, attempting to get to his feet, trying to defend himself.

"You heard what I said! We only take cash, no promises! Now get your ass out of here before I really make you regret it!" A voice said from where door used to be.

A large man stepped out of the doorway and cracked his knuckles, "It's your old man's fault he's put you all into this position. Apparently he thought his kid could convince us, but how about you send him a message?"

The large man then made a fist, and clocked the kid straight in the face, sending him tumbling back into more rubble. The man then pulled a knife out, getting ready to do some real damage to the kid that was now trying to get to his feet.

"I think we can make this work, actually... Every day your father doesn't pay up, I take a limb, how does that arrangement sound?" the man said, menacingly.

"Go to hell," the boy said, wiping the blood from his mouth, "Do your worst."

"I like your courage, kid, but it won't save you!" The man said as he swung his knife down.

The knife never hit its target, however, because Link was able to tackle the boy to the ground, saving him from the knife attack. They slid on the icy ground for a few feet, and then Link got to his feet, drawing his dagger, and turning around.

"If you want a fight, it's with me now," Link said, glaring at his new opponent. The cut on his head opened again, and blood was starting to flow down his head. He also had a slight cut on his back, where he apparently took a cut from the knife that was meant for the other child.

"What is it with you kids, these days. Don't you know how to stay out of each other's business? I guess I can play for a bi-" the man's sentence was cut off by a foot to the face courtesy of Phane, who also joined in on the action.

"That's the end of that," Phane said, now looking at the unconscious perpetrator, "guy was too full of himself to notice me getting ready to kick him in the face."

Link blinked, he was expecting a fight, but was at least glad Phane chose the best time to react after Link made his decision to help. It reinforced his thoughts of Phane being considerate enough to help someone in need, especially a young person. Nothing angered Link more than someone beating up on someone who wasn't able to defend his or her self well. Link grinned a bit at Phane, who returned it, and then tended to the child.

"Hey, are you okay?" Link said, as he turned the child onto his back. The boy looked a lot like Link, actually. They both had short, yet thick blonde hair, and were roughly the same size. Link shook the other boy on the shoulder, and watched the boy open his eyes. Unlike Link, the other boy's eyes were brown.

"W-what happened?" The boy said as he tried to sit up a bit, with Link's help.

"Some guy was about to cut into you, but we got there in time to get you out of the way," Phane said, as he took a seat on the back of the unconscious man, "And then we took care of him."

"You two did?" the boy asked, still clearly dazed from the punch to the face and then the impact to the ground.

"My name's Logan," the boy said, "and he attacked me because my parents owe them a lot of money because of a bet my father lost to them, and they've taken almost everything we have."

"And you thought you can somehow reach a settlement with them? Odd thing for someone your age to do when your father's the one who they should talk to," Phane said, dragging his hand through his beard.

"You don't understand," Logan snapped, "they beat my father up worse than this. He's bedridden because they broke so many of his bones."

"So now you're trying to minimize the damage," Phane said, "What kind of bet was it?"

"It was to see who could win in a fist fight. My father used to be a soldier a few years ago, until he was able to retire, and spend time with me and my mother. About a month ago, these creeps moved into the city, and started to bother my mother who worked at the school her and my father had opened. Then some guy hit my mother, and my father stepped into action, and ended up beating up a few of them before their leader came in. He was a big beast of a man, and told my father that he would leave us alone if he beat him in a fist fight. Needless to say, my father lost badly, and now they're taking everything my parents have worked so hard for..."

"Do you know their leader's name?" Phane said, again scratching his beard.

Logan nodded, "They called him Bruiser."

"Bruiser?" Link asked, registering the name in his memory.

"Yeah, they say he has never lost a fight," Logan said, looking down at the ground, "I'm glad you all helped me, but I just don't think it helped in the long run. They'll just come back and take the rest of our things now."

"That won't happen," Link said, "I promise."

"Yeah, we'll sort it out for you all," Phane said, standing up, "Can you take us to your parents? I'd like to talk to them."

"...yeah, sure," Logan said as he tried to get to his feet. Suddenly, he hissed in pain and doubled over, grasping his ribs. Link went to Logan's side and quickly noticed Logan grasping his ribs.

They might be broken, Link thought as he got in position to pick his new friend up onto his back.

"I'll help you, but you just need to tell us where to go," Link said, lifting Logan onto his back, "I'll patch you up when we get there, okay?"

"All right..." Logan said, obviously through a pained gasp.

"I'm Link, by the way," Link said, introducing himself, and then he pointed at Phane, "And that's Phane. We're travelers."

"I thought you all were foreign, you all talk weird," Logan said, "Anyways, you need to take a right back onto the main road, and then keep heading down that way until you reach the end, and that's where I live with my parents."

"Got it," Link said, "Phane, since we're going that way, we should pick up J'on as well, he can help us with this."

"Yeah, we should do that," Phane agreed, "Well, Logan, you get to meet our Lizalfo friend..." Phane looked back and saw that Logan had passed out, and was completely oblivious to Phane.

"Well, I guess he'll just have to deal with the surprise, right?" Phane said as he grinned to Link, "I really hope we can do something though. With as much as these guys are getting away with, we might be able to collect a bounty or something once we get Logan's parents' things back."

"Yeah, I was thinking that as well," Link said, "I bet we could find their hideout if we interrogate one of them, maybe one will drop by the school and we can persuade him."

"Aren't you a smart guy," Phane said, "I think you're right. If not, at least we can send a message that we're not to be trifled with."

"But Logan said that their boss has never lost a fight," Link reminded Phane, "I don't think they're exactly easy people to take out."

"Yeah, I know, but if it's a fist fight, I'll be ready. I was the most skilled martial artist in the Taean army, you know," Phane said, "I can handle myself."

"You're a martial artist? I saw a few moves, but I figured that you were taught those in training or something," Link said.

"Yeah, I'm quite confident I can beat him somehow," Phane said, "maybe we can do the same thing Logan's parents did. I think it's a bet we can win, and maybe even win some more money so we can buy the ship once we get to Toryn City."

"Let's hope that's the case, I'm not really a good fist fighter, I've always been better at using a sword or a bow. Never really learned how to fist fight," Link said.

"I could teach you a few things, besides, if we are going to bet on a fight with that Bruiser guy, I'll need a sparring partner to sharpen my skills a bit," Phane said, looking deviously at Link, who didn't notice.

Link and Phane made it to J'on, who was making himself comfortable in a back alley, until Link and Phane filled him in about what was going to happen.

"So we're going to a school? I hope they like Lizalfos," J'on said, making sure the hood he was wearing concealed him well.

"We kind of just saved their son, I think they'll make an exception," Phane said, pointing at Logan who was still out cold.

"Guess you're right, let's not waste any time then," J'on said as he grabbed the reigns to Epona and walked out of the alley with them, and towards the school.

Meanwhile...

"So you're saying one guy did this to you?"

"Yes, Boss Bruiser, it was some guy with black hair, and a kid was with him too," the man who Phane had knocked out earlier said.

"And you were trying to send a message to that family?" Bruiser said as he stood up. He was a very large and muscular man, standing at 6'5'' and weighing 295 pounds of pure muscle. While he was bulky, he still maintained a slender enough form to be agile as well, he looked truly dangerous.

"Yes," the man said as he looked toward the ground.

All of a sudden, Bruiser punched the man in the face as hard as he could, with devastating results. After a sickening crack, the man collapsed to the ground. Bruiser had punched him so hard he had snapped the man's neck, killing him instantly.

"Dump the body somewhere," Bruiser said, "I think it's time we get to know this black haired guy and his little friend."

A/N: Well, what do you think? I think I could have gone longer, but I saw the word count and decided that I didn't want to draw it out too long! The good side of that is that I have a good template for the next chapter! Get ready for a more action-packed chapter 4! It's coming soon!

A/N: Well, I'm still working hard on the story, how about that! I'm going to take this opportunity to fill in some gaps, and also catch up on Link, J'on, and Phane's adventures in Clearwater. I know it's been almost a month since my last update, but let's just say work picked up and I didn't have the time to work on this. Shame, really. I'm going to go ahead and warn you, the first part of this chapter is a bit... wonky. I'm not sure if I conveyed what I wanted from a couple of characters, but it's not that important of a part anyways, just bear with me until the action picks up.

In the castle in the city of Ninso, the city Link and Phane had escaped from, Justiciar Essen was sitting in his office, looking down at the map of his city. His second in command, Captain Tanto was also sitting in there, trying to piece together what just happened.

Captain Tanto was a middle aged man with black hair braided into a neat ponytail and had a thick goatee. He stood at 5'10'' and was fairly slender.

"So, you're saying that the boy managed to break the door open with a bone, knocked out the guard in his own office, and then improvised an escape and then made his way to the forest with Phane," Justiciar Essen recounted, this story was just too crazy, yet it was also true.

"Yes, I sent a whole unit searching for those two," Tanto said, "But they never found any evidence of either of them, and we know Phane was wounded, and I doubt that kid would make it far into the forest carrying Phane with him."

"You saw what that kid was capable of doing though," Essen replied, "He took out my whole highwayman scheme by himself. Whoever he is, he's not normal."

"So are you saying that you think they made it through the forest?" Tanto said.

"I have little doubt, but it doesn't matter, they won't impede our plans anymore. No doubt, even if Phane survived, they would stick around for long in this country. They're probably laying low, we won't find them," Essen replied, looking down at the map, "Is everything ready to go for King Toryn? Once I get to Toryn City, the king will not let me out of his sight, so I'm counting on you to strike when the time is right."

"Yes sir, I've had several soldiers rallying up the poor in Toryn City against him, on my word they'll storm the castle and leave King Toryn in your hands," Tanto replied, pointing at Toryn City on the map.

"Good, it won't be long until the crown is in my hands, and I will be the King of Taea," Essen said, grinning deviously at his co-conspirator, "I can almost taste it. I long deeply for the moment when I pry it from King Toryn's dead body. Make your way to Toryn City and get everything ready. You know what to do when I get there."

"Sir!" Captain Tanto said as he stood up, saluted, and then walked out of the office.

Justiciar Essen sat back in his chair, smiling to himself.

I just wish I could've seen the look on Phane's face when the arrows hit him. Shame, really...

CLEARWATER...

Link, Phane, and J'on were making their way to the school Logan's parents owned. They were at least glad that Logan stayed conscious for long enough to explain his situation, since now they know it would be mutually beneficial to take care of Bruiser and his lackeys.

"From what Logan said, this Bruiser guy sounds a bit scary if you ask me," Link said, still carrying the unconscious Logan on his back.

"Yeah, well, whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger," Phane said, walking along side Link and J'on, "We can't exactly run away from him either. They probably know Logan was involved, so we're going to have to protect him and his parents."

"Yeah, no doubt," Link said, nodding, "I just wish we didn't have to confront him directly, but it's also the best way to end this."

"Yeah, unfortunately the message you all sent was completely different," J'on said, "He's probably angry that someone showed one of his guys up, and wants to display his gang's strength now while he still can, before more people start standing up for themselves."

"That means we can expect some guests," Link said.

"We'll speculate later," Phane said, "I think I can see the school, hopefully they'll let us stick around since we helped their kid out of a bad situation. We'll get you patched up when we get there, Link."

"Yeah, but it's still bleeding pretty badly, might want to stop it as soon as we can. Anyways, let's pick up the pace, I want to meet this kid's parents," Phane said as they started to walk a bit faster.

Soon enough, they reached the school. It was a decent sized school, and definitely was a magnificent place at one time, but it has fallen into disrepair and looked deserted.

Phane knocked on the door, and after a few moments, a woman answered the door. She was in her mid-30's and had reddish-blonde hair and brown eyes.

"Can I help you?" the woman asked, making sure the door wasn't open all the way.

"Excuse me, but are you Logan's mother?"Phane asked, trying to at least assure her that he's not one of the bad guys.

"Yes, why, is he okay?" She asked, slightly concerned, yet relieved that Phane didn't appear to be one of the people who have visited before.

"He's okay, but he was attacked by someone, and me and my friend Link managed to save him," Phane said, moving over for Link who had Logan on his back.

"By the gods!" She exclaimed and opened the door all the way once she recognized her son on Link's back.

"Come in! He needs some help," She said, obviously quite stressed. Link, Phane, and then J'on walked into the school, right behind Logan's mother.

"Come in, this way!" She said as she opened a door to another corridor, and walked them to another door, which she opened.

"In here, please," she said as she walked in in front of Link. There was a bed, a chest of drawers, and some other things inside. This was definitely Logan's room.

"J'on, can you go watch the front?" Phane whispered to J'on, "I think we're going to be here for a while, might want to introduce yourself later."

"Got it," J'on said and split off with them so he could watch the entrance.

Link put Logan on his bed, and saw that Logan's face was a bit swollen where he got hit in the face. Link saw Logan's mother leave then come back with a bowl of water and a couple of towels. Link got up and took one of the towels, and wet it; he walked over to Logan, and then put the wet cloth on Logan's cheek, and then put some pressure on it. Link concentrated on reducing the swelling on Logan's cheek, when his concentration was interrupted by a wet cloth on his own head. Link looked over and saw Logan's mother was working on fixing Link up in the process.

"Yeah, he's fine," Link said, grinning gingerly as she cleaned off the cut on his head. Once she was done, Link concentrated on helping Logan out again. Once he got the swelling to go down a little bit, Link remembered that Logan grabbed his ribs before passing out.

I don't think they're broken since he was talking to us, but they're bruised and probably swollen, Link thought as he put the towel back in the bowl.

"Done?" Logan's mother asked, "It looked a lot worse than it did when I first saw him."

"Well, we have to see if his ribs are okay, he grabbed them shortly before he passed out," Link said as he started unbuttoning Logan's shirt to see that he indeed had bruised ribs.

"That's good," Phane chimed in, as he walked closer to look at Logan a bit better, "He'll feel it for a few days, but after that it shouldn't be any trouble."

Link stood up, as well as Logan's mother, and she put the bowl of water down next to Logan's bed.

"We haven't been able to introduce ourselves yet, my name is Link," Link said, "and this is Phane. The other person we were with is J'on."

Phane nodded and raised his hand, and then said "Yeah, don't be alarmed by J'on. He's a Lizalfo, but he's on our side and can talk... and he's red."

"My name is Kenna, I am Logan's mother," Logan's mother said as she acknowledged them. She was obviously under a great deal of stress, but she also appeared to be a strong woman, "As for the lizalfo, if he can fight, he's of use to everyone here right now."

"Logan told us about Bruiser, is he as bad as he said he was?" Link asked as he stood up.

Kenna remained silent for a moment, realizing the situation that they were now in. She sighed, and then said "Let me show you. This way."

Link and Phane followed Kenna down the hallway to a larger door, which she opened. Link and Phane walked inside, and their eyes widened when they saw what was inside. A man, heavily bandaged, was laying down and wheezing in a bed in the center of the room.

"This is how bad Bruiser is. My husband fought Bruiser and had most of his ribs snapped, his shoulder broken, his arm broken in three places, his jaw broken, and his collarbone cracked. He's a dangerous man, and now that my husband and son are hurt, there's not much more we can do to protect ourselves."

Kenna sat down on a chair next to her husband's bed, and put her hand on her forehead, obviously showing serious stress.

"We saved Logan from one of his lackeys, but I think we might have also angered them," Link said, "they're probably regrouping and coming after the school."

Kenna looked down at the floor, trying to think of anything she could do, but she didn't look angered, "You know, I really appreciate you all saving my son, and don't think that you're responsible for this. If anything, it gives us an advantage because we at least can plan for them to strike tonight, but the odds aren't in our favor."

Link nodded, "if we're lucky we can beat enough of them back though."

"We can all handle ourselves," Phane said.

"Besides, with J'on on our side, we do have a psychological advantage over them because he could at least scare some of them," Link continued.

Kenna thought for a minute, and then sat back a little bit, "What do you need us to do?"

"We need to keep you all in one area away from where they would attack from," Phane said.

"That would probably be this room, actually, since it's the farthest away from the entrance," Kenna said, "You all should go and get Logan and bring him back here, I'll make a bed for him real quick."

"I'll go get him," Link said, "I'll be right back." With that, Link left the room and walked back down the corridor to Logan's room.

I hope we really can beat them back, Link thought, I'm not that glad that we involved the family in this way, but it would've happened anyways. It was just a matter of time, I think Kenna understands that too, some help is better than none.

Link got to Logan's room, picked him up off the bed, and took him back to the other room. Once Link got there, he put Logan on the bed that his mother made for him, and joined Phane, who was standing in a corner.

"You all think you will be fine in here?" Link asked, looking out a window and noticing night was falling.

"Better than out there," Kenna said, "You all be careful, they'll be here soon. Down the hall to the left is a closet; my husband keeps his swords in there."

"We will, and thanks," Phane said, as he beckoned Link to come with him. Link nodded to them, and then followed Phane out of the room.

"You think we'll be able to stop them?" Link asked Phane as they headed toward the weapons closet.

"I'm sure we can find a way to stop them," Phane said, "With as resourceful as you are and as persistent as I am, and with J'on on our side, I think we can at least fluster them enough to gain the advantage."

"How many do you think there will be?" Link asked, trying to come up with some sort of strategy for them. If he knew a bit more about them, he would be able to think of something, but that wasn't the case.

"I'd say probably 10 or 15, I don't think he wants to gain too much attention from the townsfolk," Phane said as they reached the closet. Link opened the closet and pulled out a sword and strapped it to his back. It wasn't a long sword, but it was a good size for him. Phane pulled out a sword as well, and then spotted a pair of steel bars on cloth straps. He picked them up, and put his fingers through the finger holes on the other side, and then tied the cloth.

"What are those?" Link asked, picking a sword up to give to J'on once they were done.

"They're called Cestus. The steel reinforces your fist and makes your punches quite devastating," Phane said, "How about you go give that sword to J'on and tell him to wait with Logan and his parents? They need someone right there to help, and I think J'on is the best choice."

"Right," Link said as he ran off to the entrance to J'on who was watching the road. The sun was starting to go down, which meant that the gang was likely to attack soon.

"We'll be fine," Link said, "You take care of them and be careful too."

"I will, good luck" J'on said as he headed off to the family.

Link watched J'on head off, and then looked back at the darkening sky, "We'll need it."

Link stood there for a few minutes, and then Phane came out and stood next to him, "You ready?"

"Yeah," Link replied, looking down the hill for any sign of activity.

"Any plans?" Phane asked, looking for anything they can use.

Link spotted an old carriage that still had fairly good wheels, "We can roll that carriage down the hill. Might take down a few of them, eh?"

"Good idea, thin them out before direct contact," Phane said, stretching his arms, and then put his hand on Link's shoulder.

"Nervous?" Phane asked, noting Link still looking for anything that can give them the advantage.

"A little," Link said, looking up to Phane and grinning. Link then looked down at the hill and saw a group of people amassing at the bottom of it.

"Kill the torches," Phane said as he spotted them too. Link and Phane took the torches off the porch and doused them in snow, getting ready for a surprise attack on the goons at the bottom of the hill.

"Come on," Link said as he got behind the carriage, ready to push it. Phane got behind the carriage and peeked out from behind it, and saw the group of people start running up the hill, shouting. Their skirmish had begun.

"Now!" Phane shouted as he and Link pushed with all their might, and made the old carriage careen down the hill at high speed. The carriage flipped onto its side, and took out several of them, leaving about 6 or 7 left for Link and Phane to fight.

"Come on, fall back and split up," Phane said as he and Link started to run back to the entrance of the school. Phane went down the left hall, and Link went down the right, hoping to split the force up even more. Once the goons got into the school, they split up as well, sending 3 down the hall to Link, and the last four to Phane's side. The school was dark, which gave Link and Phane the advantage of stealth as well, which Link used when he saw the group come over. Link hid in one of the door ways, and once they got to him, Link drew his sword, and jumped onto the back of one, and hitting the man in the back of the head with the hilt of his sword, causing him to drop to the ground. Link rolled off the man as he fell, and blocked the oncoming sword strike coming from one of the others. Link parried the man's sword strike and kicked him in the leg, causing his knee to buckle. Link dodged a thrust from the other goon, and knocked one of them out by hitting the man in the head again with his sword hilt. Now that there was one left, he advanced on the last one, who instead ran away, farther down the hall towards the room where J'on and Logan's family were.

Link started to run after him, but was grabbed by the back of his shirt and thrown to the ground. Link looked up and saw a very large man advance on him. Link got back up and readied his sword, but the large man grabbed Link's wrist and squeezed, causing Link to lose grip of his sword and it fell to the ground.

"Interesting," the man said, "To think that just a kid like you can take on my gang like that. Impressive."

"You're..." Link said, but then he was hit straight in the solar plexus. The pain was unimaginable, and Link struggled for air, gasping for it as he had doubled over. The man's strength was immense.

"Bruiser? Yes," Bruiser said as he saw Link quit gasping for air and go limp. He picked Link up and took him back outside.

Meanwhile, Phane had also fought off the four people coming toward him, and ran back to the main room, where he saw the man who ran away from Link open the door to Logan's family's room, and run in, only to come flying out into a wall, and J'on came outside, looking down at the unconscious man.

"Where's Link?" J'on asked, not seeing Link down the hall.

"Shit," Phane said as he ran down Link's hallway and didn't find him at all, but found two unconscious men, showing that Link had obviously defeated them. He and J'on ran outside and saw Bruiser, holding the now unconscious Link under his left arm.

"Link!" Phane exclaimed as he saw Bruiser standing there with his unconscious friend in his grasp.

"It's not every day someone like you three have stood up to my gang, so if you value this kid's life, you will take my offer," Bruiser said, squeezing on Link a little bit.

"I'm listening," Phane said, still in guard, trying to not let Link's predicament cloud his judgment.

"You and me, fists only. Tomorrow morning at the Earth and Fire Cornerclub. If you win, you two and the kid can go free. If you don't... well, the kid's the last thing you really need to worry about."

Bruiser then whistled for his horse, and a black horse came running up to him. Bruiser mounted his horse, keeping Link under his arm, and looked back at Phane. Phane's teeth were gritted, and his anger was starting to get a hold of him.

"I'm looking forward to it." Bruiser said before kicking his horse and left. Phane ran up to the hill and saw Bruiser and Link disappear into the night. Phane kicked at the snow on the ground and growled in anger. J'on came up and put a scaly hand on Phane's shoulder.

"Come on," J'on said, trying to calm Phane down, "Getting angry right now is only going to hurt Link. Save your anger for the fight, you have some work to do."

"Hang in there, kid. I'm coming," Phane said, and then walked back inside as well.

A/N: Well, I was thinking of continuing here, but I decided against it because the next chapter is a doozy! I hope you enjoyed it, even though it was mainly build up. It will all come out next chapter, I can promise you that!

A/N: Well, here it is, the most action-packed chapter so far. Get ready, here we go!

Where am I...

He knew wherever he was, it was cold and damp. There was also a cool draft coming from above him, and the sound of water dripping in the distance.

Link's eyes cracked open, and saw he was in a well-lit room, with a barred wooden door and stone walls. There was also a small barred window, letting in some cold air. Link then noticed that both his arms were spread out and shackled to separate chains giving him some mobility, but nowhere near enough to actually do something. It started to get very cold in that room, and Link shivered some more, because his shirt and boots were gone; no doubt a tactic to make him as uncomfortable as possible.

Link shivered a little bit, and started to wonder what was going to happen to him, as well as find some possible way to escape. His thoughts were interrupted by the door flying open, and Bruiser and two henchman walked in to greet him.

"Well, kid, I see you're awake. Good, let's make this quick, shall we?" Bruiser said as he walked over to Link, got to his knees, and grabbed Link by the face, forcing Link to look him in the eye.

"Your friend should be here in a couple of hours," Bruiser said, "In the meantime, I think you should get to know our hospitality in these parts." Bruiser motioned for his goons to walk up to him, as he walked back to the door.

"Phane will beat you, Bruiser!" Link snarled, "Mark my words." All of a sudden, one of Bruiser's goons punched Link really hard in the ribs, making him gasp in pain. Then another fist hit him straight in the jaw, splitting his lip a little bit, and dazing him.

"Don't rough up the merchandise too much," Bruiser said to his henchman, "Just tenderize it a bit."

With that, Bruiser left the room, cracking his knuckles as he left, getting ready for his match with Phane.

At the school...

Phane was punching a dummy that was lent to him by Kenna in the common area in the school. His fight with Bruiser was going to be soon, and he had been training for the past two hours after he woke up. He kept punching and kicking the dummy, getting faster, imagining it was Bruiser he was punching. He then let his anger slip a little bit, and then landed a roundhouse kick so hard, it snapped the wooden beam inside the tummy, causing it to bend down and render itself useless.

"Dammit," Phane said as he had realized the destruction he had caused. This wait was killing him, who knows what was happening to Link while he was stuck there practicing.

"You okay, Phane?" J'on said as he walked into the common room, holding a towel and a cup of water.

"Yeah, just a bit nervous," Phane said, "I'm just having a bit of trouble with sitting around here. I want to go there already and help Link out; who knows what they're doing to that poor kid."

"They're probably beating the crap out of him, to be honest," J'on said, "But he can take it. He's tough, and he'll hold out for you. He's counting on you to beat Bruiser."

"Yeah, I know, but I just keep thinking I could've done something had I just planned this better," Phane said, taking the cup of water and the towel.

"The more you doubt yourself, the more it hurts Link," J'on warned, trying to get Phane's mind in the right place.

"Thanks for keeping my mind in the right place, J'on," Phane said as he drank the water, and then wiped his face off with the towel, "Look, in case I beat Bruiser, they won't necessarily be happy with me walking out with Link, so can you back me up?"

J'on walked over to a small urn and pulled out an unlit torch. Much to Phane's surprise, J'on breathed fire onto the torch, lighting it.

"Not a problem," J'on said, putting the lit torch on a sconce.

"You can... breathe fire?" Phane said, in shock. This might just work after all.

"You noticed that, huh?"

"Well, I... Never mind, thanks for everything, J'on."

"Let's go, don't want to keep Link waiting for too long," J'on said as he beckoned Phane to follow him out of the room. J'on left, heading back to the family's room, leaving Phane in the common room.

Phane looked back at the dummy, and then exhaled, while starting at the floor.

Hang in there, Link, I'm coming...

Back to Link...

"Shouldn't be too long, now, kid," one of the henchmen said as he punched Link in the gut again. They had been having at him for two hours, and the pain was growing. Link was sure that a couple of his ribs were broken, and that he would need several stitches elsewhere. Link gave the goon a bloody grin, and then received another punch in the face.

Link spit out a molar, and then looked back at the henchman, who was trying to get some feeling back in his fist.

"Look at that, your last baby tooth?" The other henchman said as he stood up to take the other's place.

"Maybe," Link said, "Does this mean I get a rupee for my troubles?"

That retort got him another punch in the face. Link recovered, and looked up at his new company, "You need to work on those punches; I'm starting to get bored here." Link yawned to prove his point.

Link was punched in the face again, and he spit out a bit more blood, and then said "You need to have more intensity; I'm not feeling it here."

"You think you're funny, you little smart ass?"

"A lot funnier than you," Link said, knowing he was getting to this guy, "You should go find your sense of humor, you probably left it downstairs."

"Heh," the goon said as he hit Link square in the stomach, causing Link to cough, and grit his teeth in pain. That one really hurt; his ribs were flaring up again, and it was getting hard to breathe.

"Now... we're getting somewhere," Link said, trying to gain his breath back. He really was in serious pain and he was dazed, but he didn't want his attackers to gain the upper hand on him. He had to last long enough for Phane to get to him. All of a sudden, the door opened, and Bruiser walked back in the room.

"Both of you, get out," Bruiser ordered. The two men walked out of the room, leaving Link alone with Bruiser.

"I hope our hospitality has suited you," Bruiser said, smiling menacingly at Link, walking over to the tooth Link spit out, "I'll be sure to reimburse you for this." Bruiser picked up the tooth and put it in his pocket, hoping to channel Phane's anger for later.

"Not likely, kid. I've never lost a fight," Bruiser said, walking over to Link's right side.

"There's always a first time," Link said, closing his eyes so he didn't have to look Bruiser in the eyes. Even though he didn't show it, Bruiser terrified him, but he didn't want him to know that.

"Well, how about a parting gift if you're so confident?" Bruiser said as he suddenly grabbed Link's right hand and twisted it hard, causing Link's wrist to dislocate. Link screamed in pain, and Bruiser let off of him, smiling at his handiwork.

"I'll be seeing you soon," Bruiser said as he closed the door behind him as he left. Link was still gasping in pain from his wrist, ribs, and face. He felt the blood drip from his nose onto his chest, and the pain was so intense his eyes started to water. The world started to go dark as his head drooped down, and he started at the floor.

Phane, please, hurry...

Meanwhile...

Phane and J'on were standing at the entrance of the club. It was a couple of stories high, and there were barred windows on top.

"I bet Link is in one of those rooms," Phane said, pointing up at them, "Which means that this is going to be a difficult rescue."

"We don't have much choice," J'on said, "I'll wait out here; I think I'll know the right time to come in."

"I'm counting on you, J'on," Phane said as he shook hands with J'on. Phane then took a deep breath, and opened the double doors to the bar, and walked in.

Once he got in there, he saw a ring in the middle of the club, with a sand floor. The bar was one open floor, with a staircase in the back, out of the way. Several people were sitting at the bar, and a few more were sitting at the tables surrounding a square inlet with a fence around it. Phane walked over to the ring, and looked in to see a sand floor and what looked like blood stains on the walls.

"Welcome," a deep voice said, "To our humble abode. What do you think?"

Phane looked up to the staircase, and saw Bruiser standing there, cracking his knuckles.

"It stinks in here," Phane said, "smells like blood."

"Your blood soon, boy," Bruiser said as he walked down the stairs, "And the blood of your friend."

"We'll see about that," Phane said, taking off his jacket and shirt and throwing them to the ground. The patrons of the bar all stood up, knowing that the fight was going to take place very soon. People came out of the rooms upstairs, and perched themselves on the balcony, shouting for a fight.

"After you," Bruiser said, opening the door to the ring. Phane walked in, and stretched, and then saw Bruiser close the door behind him, and taking his shirt off, getting ready as well.

"Remember," Bruiser said, "No weapons, but we can do whatever we like as long as it's in this ring."

"Fine with me," Phane said, stretching his legs, trying to get as loose as possible. He knew Bruiser was going to be one of his toughest challenges yet, but he had to win. Win or die trying.

By this time, a large crowd had gathered around the ring and the balcony, shouting Bruiser's name.

"Kick that pretty boy's ass, Bruiser!" A drunk patron said, raising his mug at the same time.

"You ready for this?" Bruiser said, as he got in an offensive position, "You ready to die?"

Phane got into an offensive guard as well, "Let's dance."

Bruiser smiled a bit, and then launched his attack, throwing punches with incredible force and speed, but Phane had the advantage of mobility, and was able to dodge several of his punches, while trying to find an opening of his own.

He's good, Phane thought, he's simultaneously guarding and attacking at the same time. The only way Phane was going to be able to get a hit on Bruiser was if he was able to use his own momentum, and counter one of Bruiser's punches. Phane rolled out of the way of one of Bruiser's haymakers, and then used his momentum to jump up and attempt a tornado kick at the back of Bruiser's neck. However, Bruiser was a lot faster than Phane gave him credit for, and was able to block Phane's kick and land a devastating right cross to Phane's jaw. Phane tumbled away, and hit the ground with a thud. In all his life, he had never been punched as hard as Bruiser just hit him. His jaw was aching, and the dizziness was so bad he nearly blacked out.

Not now... pull yourself together, Phane, he thought as he grabbed onto the edge of the wall and stood up. He didn't have the time to recover, because Bruiser had grabbed him by the back of the neck and threw him to the ground. This fight was starting to look one-sided, and Phane knew he wouldn't last long unless he could outsmart his opponent...

Upstairs...

The door to Link's cell flew open, and the two henchmen that beat him up earlier walked in. They spotted that Link was unconscious, and threw a whole bucket of water onto him, trying to wake him up, Link snapped awake, and was immediately reminded of the terrible pain in his ribs and wrist.

"Hey kid, just wanted to tell you that your friend's getting his ass kicked!" One of the goons said as he threw the bucket at Link, causing it to bounce off the wall and land in front of Link's feet. The henchman cackled a little bit, and then turned his back.

Suddenly, the henchman was knocked out cold by a bucket to the back of the hard. Link had kicked the bucket back with all his strength, and hit him in just the right spot.

"It's not over yet," Link said, "He'll win."

The other henchman got a running start, and hit Link in the face with a lot of force, knocking Link out instantly.

"I swear, the sooner we kill you, the better," The goon said as he walked back over to his friend, and dragged him out of the room, and shut the door.

Back to the fight...

Several minutes had passed, and it was starting to look like Phane was Bruiser's personal punching bag. No matter what he did, he couldn't land a hit on Bruiser, but at the same time, couldn't defend against Bruiser's onslaught. Bruiser knocked Phane back to the ground again, and started to kick Phane down every time he got up. It was looking like Phane had lost the fight. He was out-classed in strength and size, and even his speed and mobility were useless against Bruiser's incredible guarding ability.

"You know, your friend had a lot more faith in you than he should of," Bruiser said, "However, he also could take a punch better than you can too."

Phane gasped for air, but was cut off when Bruiser stomped him into the sand floor. The dizziness Phane was experiencing was just getting worse by the minute, and he knew he couldn't take any more of it.

Link... I'm sorry, Phane thought as he saw Bruiser bend down to look Phane in the eye. To his surprise, Bruiser pulled something out of his pocket.

Bruiser held the molar that Link spit out earlier at Phane, "Sorry, but I guess I couldn't help but hurt him a little. By little, I mean, of course, a lot..."

"You son of a..." Phane said as he gritted his teeth, now the anger he had been suppressing was starting to manifest in him again. The hatred he felt for what Bruiser did to Logan, Logan's family, and now to Link was starting to consume him.

Bruiser stood up, and started to raise his hands to the crowd of people, who applauded his apparent victory, "I thought you were going to be a good fight there, boy, but all I got was just big words. I thought you said you were going to kill me? You can't even touch me." Bruiser laughed, and turned around to see Phane on one knee, gathering the rest of his strength.

"What.. still got some?" Bruiser said, as he grinned a bit. He knew Phane couldn't do anything to him, so he could relish this moment before putting Phane down for good.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Phane screamed, and then grabbed a hand full of sand and threw it right into Bruiser's eyes, blinding him. Bruiser threw a blind haymaker, which Phane easily dodged, and landed one of his own to Bruiser's jaw. Bruiser staggered back, obviously stunned by Phane's tactics, and attempted to get into a guard of his own, even though his vision was blurred. He didn't see the left hook that hit him straight in the jaw, and the right that hit him in the ribs, breaking one instantly. He threw one more punch at Phane, who blocked it, cupped both of his hands, and smacked them as hard as he could into Bruiser's ears, making his ears ring and start to bleed. Bruiser screamed in anger and pain, and lunged for Phane.

Phane saw his feral attempt to grab him, and dropped to his knees, and then used his palm to strike the side of Bruiser's knee, snapping it. Bruiser screamed in agony, and landed on his knees, screaming again as he landed on his broken knee. Phane got back to his feet and landed the hardest punch he had ever thrown in his life to Bruiser's jaw, snapping it. Phane then landed a second punch to Bruiser's nose, snapping it.

Phane looked at the now delirious Bruiser, and snarled.

"That was for Logan and his family," Phane said, "And THIS..."

Phane gathered up all the strength he had and roundhouse kicked Bruiser in the head as hard as he could. All Phane heard was a snapping noise, and when he finished his follow through, he saw that he had snapped Bruiser's neck, killing him.

"...Is for Link," Phane said as he looked at the now dead Bruiser, still slumped on his knees, his head obviously dislocated and staring blankly at the ground. The whole bar went silent, and Phane looked at the stunned crowd. Phane opened the door to the ring, and put his jacket and shirt back on. He walked upstairs to one of the goons guarding the door to the cells, and held his hand out. The nervous rattling of keys was the only sound in the room, as the henchman handed Phane the keys, and then cowered away. Phane unlocked the door, and then opened the first door he found, and saw Link in there, chained to the wall, blood trickling down his face.

"Gods," Phane said as he ran over to the unconscious Link, and gently shook him awake. Link's eyes cracked open, and he saw his friend looking at him, obviously concerned.

"You won..." Link said as he flared a weak grin, "I knew you would."

"I'm glad you did, kid," Phane said, returning the weak grin, "Let's get you out of here." Phane unlocked the shackles holding Link to the chains, and then lowered Link's arms. Phane noticed Link's right wrist was swollen and Bruised, and Link's ribs were also the same way. He had really been through the mill, but he held up. Link started shivering, and Phane looked around the room for Link's clothes or a blanket of some kind.

"Wait here," Phane said to Link, who nooded back. Phane left the room, and looked in the room next to Link's and found a bed. Phane removed the blanket, and returned to Link, who was wincing in pain.

"All right, let's get you wrapped up and then we're going back to the school, and then we're calling a doctor," Phane said. Link then nodded, and then let Phane wrap him in the blanket and pick him up. Phane walked out of the room, and downstairs, where he saw every patron on their knees, with J'on inside, holding a sword, making sure that they bowed down to Phane, who acknowledged the fact that he was their boss now, in a way.

"I want each and every one of you to return everything you have taken from Logan, Kenna, and Kenna's husband, and all the money you all have accumulated is forfeit to me now. I don't want to see any of you again, get the hell out of town and stay out," Phane said as he walked over to J'on, who nodded to him. Every patron stood up, and started to get to work. Soon enough, they had filled up a few carriages of Logan's family's belongings, and their whole treasury. Phane sat Link on one of the carriage's benches, and saw J'on mount the other, and they drove them back to the school.

Back at the school...

Once Phane, Link, and J'on had arrived, Kenna and the now conscious Logan ran out to greet them and see what happened. Phane picked up Link, who had fallen asleep, and dismounted the carriage. Kenna and Logan ran up to Phane, and saw what happened.

"Is he going to be okay?" Logan asked, seeing that Link was in way worse condition than he was, "you beat Bruiser?"

"I've gotten everything that they've stolen from you all," Phane said, "Bruiser and his gang will never bother you again. As for Link, we should call a doctor, they messed him up bad. We might as well get you and your father looked at too."

"But even if we got our things back, we can't afford to..." Kenna started, before Phane interrupted her by opening up the carriage he was riding. Several bags of rupees fell out, making Logan and his mother's eyes widen in surprise.

"That won't be a problem either," Phane said, grinning. Even though he had killed Bruiser, he felt like he had truly helped out these people, and finally felt at peace with the fact that he was, in a way, a hero to them, although he still felt that even though he got the prestige, it was Link who had outclassed him by keeping his faith in Phane when Phane himself didn't even have it.

"Let's get him inside, it's getting cold out here," Phane said, "Logan, can you go fetch the doctor? I don't think sending J'on to do it would be a good idea."

"R-right, I'll be back soon!" Logan said as he ran off down the hill, towards where the doctor was. Phane brought Link inside, and sat him on top of the bed Logan was sleeping in before.

"Well, Link, count this as payback for you dragging me around," Phane said as he sat down at Link's bed side...

But not for saving my life...

A/N: Well, there we go! I know it's a bit violent, but it made it interesting just to see Phane's anger finally flush out of him and see what lengths he would go to to save his friends. Also, this officially marks the end of the Clearwater story arc, so we're moving on to greater things next chapter! Enjoy!

A/N: Well, hello again. I've been away yet again because I've been caught up in a move as well as working on my Linux Distro and my own comic book series coming out soon.

"Two bruised ribs, a dislocated wrist, and several lacerations," The doctor said as he went over Link's injuries with Phane.

"I've wrapped him up and set his wrist back, but there isn't much I can do for the ribs but let them heal naturally. I'd suggest to let him rest for today, and to engage in only light activity for the next few days. He should make a full recovery pretty soon though. Also, if he ends up acting funny or complains about dizziness or headaches, it might be a concussion. If that's the case, keep an extra eye on him."

Phane looked down at Link, who was still passed out, but seemed a bit more comfortable now that he was set back in place.

"Thanks, doctor," Phane said, standing up and shaking hands with the doctor.

Phane watched the doctor leave the room, and then exhaled loudly. Link was a lot less injured than he appeared when he rescued him after he killed Bruiser. The doctor examined Logan, and Logan's father as well, and they were recovering well. Logan's father was actually able to speak now that he had received some proper treatment, so all was looking bright for the family as well.

"Ugh," a voice came from behind Phane was standing. He turned around and saw Link stirring around under the covers. Phane sat back down, and saw Link push the covers off of him, and attempt to sit up.

"Easy," Phane said, helping Link sit up, "How are you feeling?"

Link sat up for a bit, breathing deeply, trying to lessen the pain in his ribs. His ribs were throbbing, and his head felt even worse.

"Like I've been used as a battering ram," Link replied, looking down at his chest and noticing that he was wrapped up, "How long was I out?"

"Since this morning," Phane said, "You've got a couple of badly bruised ribs and your right wrist had to be set back in place, but you'll be okay."

"And a massive headache," Link said, laying back down to avoid dizziness; the whole world was spinning around him.

"The doctor thought you might have a concussion, so you're going to have to take it extra easy," Phane said, pulling the covers back over Link.

"I guess you're right," Link said, looking at Phane now that he had gotten his dizziness under control. Phane sat back, and cracked his knuckles.

"I'll be honest, you looked a lot worse than you turned out to be when I found you in that cell," Phane said, "But I'm glad the damage was minimal."

"Well," Link said, "They didn't treat their guests well."

"They definitely scored low on hospitality, I suspect," Phane said, grinning at Link's dry humor. They remained silent after that; not sure how to start their next conversation, until Link piped up.

"So what happened when you fought Bruiser?" Link asked, sitting back up again. He had no idea what happened, just that Phane beat Bruiser somehow.

"He knocked me around for a while, but then I got the upper hand and beat him," Phane said, crossing his arms, "He won't be bothering anyone else again."

"Ah..." Link said, "And they just let you come and take me back?"

"I think the defeat of their boss was scary enough to merit such actions," Phane replied, "Not to mention J'on can be very convincing. I don't know what he did, but something happened. I'm not sure that I want to know either."

"No doubt," Link said, "So what now?"

"I think we should get a move on out of the city to Toryn City, but well have to go through the forest," Phane said, "Essen's men are probably still looking for us, and with a gang like Bruiser's, I'm sure that word will get out soon that their boss was... dealt with."

"You killed Bruiser... didn't you?" Link asked, addressing Phane's hesitation directly. Phane knew Link had made a conscious effort not to kill anyone in the limited action he had seen Link take part in, so he wasn't quite sure if he wanted to reveal it.

"And if I said yes?"

"I'd say it was probably the only choice you had," Link said, "I might not believe in killing, but sometimes it has to be done. I can't imagine what would happen if Bruiser was still alive right now, but I'm sure it wouldn't end well for the both of us."

"So you're just... fine with it? You don't even know the circumstances," Phane said, not expecting Link to have a developed view of what had transpired. Link was a lot smarter than Phane thought he was, and he had already figured that Link was very smart already.

"I trust you enough to do what's right," Link said, "We might not have known each other for long, but I know you well enough."

Phane remained silent; Link's words did resonate with him, and made him feel better about himself, as well as his new friendship with Link.

Phane stood up, and put his hand on Link's shoulder, causing Link to look up to him.

"You're a good friend, kid," Phane said.

"I try," Link replied, watching Phane walk towards the door.

"Well, get some rest for now," Phane said, "Hopefully we can get on the road soon."

"Yeah, okay," Link said, watching Phane leave the room. He laid back down, hoping to sleep off the headache that was still plaguing him, but then the door rattled, and opened. Link looked up and saw Logan entering the room.

"Hey," Logan said, seeing Link try to sit up again.

"I see you're doing better," Link said propping himself up on the pillow, "How are the ribs?"

"I should be asking you the same question," Logan replied, moving the chair Phane was sitting in a little bit before sitting in it, "But for me, I'll be fine."

"Phane says that a couple of mine were bruised," Link said, "And my wrist is going to hurt for a few more days, and my head isn't doing much better."

"You did look like you went through the mill when Phane and J'on brought you back here," Logan said, sitting up in the chair.

"Luckily they got to me before a lot of real damage was done," Link said, "so did the doctor look at you all too?"

"Yeah, he also checked on my dad, and was able to treat him better than my mom could," Logan stated.

"That's good," Link said, "So what are your plans now?"

"With all the money that Phane brought back," Logan started, sitting down in the chair that Phane was sitting in, "I think we're planning on moving ourselves out of town soon. Once we get my dad fixed up that is."

"Where to?" Link asked, wondering if wherever they're planning to move to is any place he had been before, "There's a place called Hyrule to the east. It's where Phane and I are from."

"We don't know yet," Logan said, "But hey, Hyrule seems like a cool place of you and Phane come from there. Might have to at least check it out."

"Yeah," Link said, "look us up when you get there."

"We will," Logan said, getting up, "now get some sleep. Phane said you all are leaving in the morning."

"Thanks," Link said, laying back down. It was nice to actually lay down and alleviate some of the throbbing pain he was feeling. He closed his eyes, and the room stopped spinning as he drifted off to sleep again.

Meanwhile...

"So..." Phane said, sitting in a chair on the front porch of the school, "The plan is to cut through the forest again, and hit Toryn City where we can get ourselves a boat and get the hell out of here before Essen and his cohorts find out we're around."

"And hopefully get past the guards so we can do those things," J'on said, also sitting in one of the chairs, "any ideas on how to do that?"

"Not at the moment, but I have a feeling Link will when he sees it," Phane said, "After all, he did break me out of a well-fortified city."

"How long do you think the trip would be?" J'on asked.

"Should only be a couple of days through he forest. We'll take enough supplies and money go get everything done, but we will definitely need to find some place to get warm while we're going through there. It's cold, but Winter's just started, so we can expect it to get worse."

"True, I'll make sure we have some supplies for such an occasion," J'on said, and then looked Phane over, "I know I don't even have to ask about Link, but how are you doing? You were knocked around pretty good."

"Got a little headache, but I'm fine," Phane said, "Link's banged up, but he'll manage. We'll keep him on the horse, but he'll probably be a bit squeamish, so I don't know quite yet. I wish we could wait a few days, but we have to go before the guards come after us."

"Yeah, shame we have to get moving so fast though," J'on said, "But then again, don't want to stay in one place for too long, or else we'll end up getting someone's attention. Especially after what happened this morning."

Phane nodded, and then looked out at the road in front of him. Snow was starting to fall again, and the night sky was glowing with all the torches and the light reflecting off the snow.

"Well, it's getting late," Phane said, getting up, "Might as well get some sleep before the big trip tomorrow, eh?"

"Yeah, let's get some sleep," J'on said, standing up and following Phane inside to their respective rooms.

The next morning...

It was still snowing when Phane and J'on started loading Epona the next morning. Link was still asleep, and they had taken the liberty of packing everything up for him as well. Logan was nice enough to lend some clothes for Link as well, so everything was going well. Of course, Epona nearly kicking Phane for getting close to her without Link around wasn't exactly making Phane happy when J'on was able to calm her down and start loading her.

"I don't get it," Phane said, packing another bag while watching J'on load Epona up, "That horse won't even go near me, Logan, or Kenna, but she's just fine around you and Link. It makes no sense."

"...You've got to be joking," Phane said, stopping what he was doing. He really didn't understand J'on sometimes; he could get dry humor, but J'on was so blunt sometimes he wasn't quite sure if he was joking or simply telling the truth.

"Right," Phane said, "Might as well since I can't get anywhere near his horse without her trying to kill me painfully."

"Well, there are things you just can't control," J'on said, watching Phane open one of the bags on the ground and pull out one of Logan's shirts, a jacket, and a pair of boots.

"He'll need these," Phane said, tossing the bag to J'on, who caught it and loaded it.

Phane walked inside to the room Link was sleeping in, and shook him gently.

"Link, wake up," Phane said, watching Link stir, and then open his eyes.

"We've got to move," Phane said, watching Link sit up and gasp at the pain that ensued.

"You all right?" Phane asked, watching Link grimace in pain. The whole world was still spinning for Link, but he figured that getting up and about would probably help.

"Fine," Link said, getting out of the blanket. He sat on the edge of the bed, and Phane stood up and handed him the shirt and jacket.

"I think you'll need these," Phane said, "they're some of Logan's old clothes, but you should fit in it as well. Apparently, he hates green, so he decided to give them to you."

"Thanks," Link said, taking the shirt and gingerly put it on. Unlike Logan, green was obviously his favorite color, so he had no problem taking the clothes off of Logan's hands, especially since he didn't really want them to begin with.

"Here," Phane said, handing Link the boots too. He watched Link put the boots on, and then the jacket.

"All right," Link said, standing up. The world was still spinning for him, but he managed to keep his balance long enough for Phane to realize that he was still dizzy. Link caught himself on a chair before he fell over, and shook his head when Phane came over to help.

"I'm fine," Link said, and stood up again. He walked out of the room, and out the front door of the school, and saw J'on finish loading some bags onto Epona.

"Nice to see you moving around," J'on said, noticing Link walk out of the school and into the cold weather, "You feeling better?"

"I'll manage," Link said, looking at J'on, who was just finishing loading Epona.

"Oh, I found this in the school once we got it cleaned up," J'on said, pulling a small blue object out of one of the bags, "I think it's yours." Link immediately knew it was his ocarina, and sighed in relief that it wasn't lost. He didn't really occur to him that he could have lost it until then. He didn't know what he would do if he did lose it; it was probably the most important thing he owned.

"Thanks, I don't know what I would've done if I lost it," Link said, walking over to J'on and taking it. He put the ocarina safely in his jacket pocket, and then mounted his horse. Logan and Kenna came out to see them off, and Link nodded to Logan.

"We'll meet again, right?" Link said, "If you all end up going to Hyrule, it's to the east. Look up the Lon Lon Ranch, you all should have some things waiting for you all when you get there."

"We will," Logan said, waving them off. Link nodded to Phane and J'on, and waved at Logan and Kenna as they set off out of the town.

"So, you want to go back to Hyrule," Phane said, focusing on the long walk on the road out of town.

"Yeah," Link said, "It's home, and I want you to be able to see it too. Besides, I've been traveling so long, I have kind of lost my way... slightly."

"Well, in light of recent events, I would say Hyrule would be a definite improvement," Phane said, "At least you don't have the whole royal guard after you or anything."

"Right," Link said, "So let's get off to Toryn City before any of Essen's men come after us."

Meanwhile...

Justiciar Essen was again sitting at his desk, getting ready to depart for Toryn City. All of his preparations were made, and several of his bandit cells were bringing in enough money for him to fund his small army for his planned takeover. Not to mention that those bandits were also backup for him. It was a shame one of his most profitable bandit cells had to be sacrificed so he looked innocent in the eyes of the public when they attacked Link. They had no way of knowing just how difficult it would be to take one child out. The loss was manageable though. His most successful bandit cells were still going strong, mainly in Clearwater. Bruiser was doing a great job for him; he brought in several hundred thousand rupees in loot last time, and from what he had heard, there was a lot more to come.

It was then that he heard a frantic knock on his door.

"Come in," Justiciar Essen said, sitting straight in his chair, placing his elbows on the desk, and held his chin up with his fists.

"No word," Joro said, "But I suspect they are not going to stay there long. They are probably heading off to Toryn City as we speak."

"Yes, they probably are," Essen said, "We cannot allow Phane and this little nuisance of a kid to foil our plans any more."

"What are your orders, sir?"

"Send word to our Chesgrove Bandits. Chances are they will pass through there, or will be at least seen. If they are to engage them, then do not spare them. Kill them all."

"Even the boy?"

"Especially him."

"May I ask why? He is just a child," Joro asked. He didn't want to be the one giving the order to kill a child.

"He's no ordinary one. Not even close. Did you hear what happened here in Ninso?"

"Yes, your bandits were compromised, and Phane escaped," Joro said.

"The boy managed to defeat all my men single handedly, and then after I managed to capture him, he broke himself out of prison, rescued Phane from execution, escaped the city, and managed to get himself and Phane to Clearwater, where Bruiser has met his end, along with that division as well. He has sabotaged too much for me to spare his life. He has to die in order for me to gain my throne."

Joro sighed, "Yes, sir, I will give the order."

"Thank you," Essen said, sitting back in his chair, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a king to overthrow."

Later...

Link, Phane, and J'on made their way through the thick and cold forest. It was a difficult journey, but they were able to make good time regardless. The sun was starting to set, and they decided to find a place to set up camp, and start a fire to warm themselves up. Even in the thick tree cover, there was still some heavy snowfall, so they needed to find some better shelter than what they had at the moment.

Link dismounted from Epona, and unpacked her blanket. He placed it over her, and then tied her to a tree while he looked around at his surroundings.

"Think we should split up and find some firewood and shelter?" Phane asked Link.

"Yeah, that would probably work," Link said, looking around the quickly darkening forest.

"I'll go look for firewood this way," J'on said, pointing in the direction he wanted to travel, "I think you two should go look for shelter, and Phane could get some firewood. Starting a fire won't be hard regardless, but we do need to keep it going."

"Right, we'll go this way then," Link said, taking Phane with him to go search. They made their way through the thick brush, and picked up whatever dry wood they could. Then, Link spotted a cave, which he decided to go check out while Phane was still gathering wood.

"I think I found a cave, Phane!" Link said, "I'll be right back, I'm going to check it out!"

"Be careful! Don't want you to walk in on a bear," Phane said, still picking up wood.

"I'll be okay," Link shouted back, and then walked into the cave. He was relieved to find it empty, except for one thing, a large chest. Link's adventurer services took over, and he excitedly opened the chest...

Phane was just minding his own business, when suddenly he heard a loud scream come from the cave. He immediately jumped in surprise, and then recognized the voice as Link's.

"Shit," Phane said as he dropped the wood, and sprinted over to the source of the voice.

"What the..." Link said, crawling to the back of the cave, obviously scared at what had just happened. He had just opened the chest, and all the sudden, someone jumped out of the chest, knocking Link over, and startling and scaring him enough to react the way he did.

"Shhh," The person said, holding his finger to his mouth. He had long, auburn hair, and had a full goatee. He also had a tall and lanky build, and wore mismatched clothes, "Easy, laddie, it's just me."

"Y-you just came out of that chest!" Link said, pointing at the chest said person just escaped from.

"Nice an' warm in there too," The man said, "What're ya doin' out in this cold snow?"

This guy's weird... Link thought, before replying, "Well, I was looking for a place to get out of it."

The man put his arms in the air, and stretched a bit, "Aye, an' here ya are! Call me Nigel, laddie. An' who do I get to thank for releasing me from me infernal chest?"

"Link," he said, taking Nigel's now outstretched hand. He stood up, and exhaled a bit, since his ribs were now throbbing again.

"Link!" a voice shouted, "What the hell's happening?"

Link looked up and saw Phane standing there, in a slight guard, "Any who the hell are you?" Phane continued.

"Phane, it's fine," Link said, "I just got startled when I opened the chest and found Nigel here inside the chest."

Phane relaxed his guard, and then looked at Nigel, and then looked at the chest, and then finished by looking at Link.

"Wait..." Phane said, watching Link walk over to his side. Something wasn't right with this Nigel guy.

"How the hell did you end up in that chest?" Phane asked, not sure how this happened. Nigel didn't look like he was all there, but locking himself in the chest was beyond stupid.

"Well, ye see, I got me caravan jumped about a day ago," Nigel said, "An' the bandits gave me a choice of either be stuck in this snow... or get locked in that chest."

"And die slowly of dehydration and hunger rather than potentially escaping to safety?"

Nigel shrugged, "Figured I'd rather be warm."

"... You're fucking stupid," Phane said, not believing what he was hearing. It was just total luck that Link found Nigel to begin with.

"Phane!" Link shouted, and then whispered into his ear, "Be nice... He might not be as dumb as you think."

"I somehow doubt that," Phane retorted.

"I do too, but at least be nice to the guy," Link said, and then started talking at full volume again, "I'm sure that Phane was just joking, Nigel..."

Link looked back to where Nigel was just standing, and saw nothing.

"...Nigel?" Link said, looking around, "Where'd he go?" Link then turned around and saw Nigel walking out into the forest.

"Nigel!" Link shouted chasing after him, "Where are you going?"

"There's a village up this way," Nigel said, "We don't have very far to go."

"Village?" Link said, and then Phane came up behind him.

"Chesgrove," Phane said, "I didn't think we would get that close today. Having a horse is definitely a good thing." Phane then called for J'on as loudly as he could, and then watched Link mount Epona again. J'on came back with a handfull of firewood, and saw that they have already gotten ready to move again.

"Looks like we'll just need a torch," J'on said, making one and then setting it on fire with his breath.

"Chesgrove isn't that far from here," Link said, "We're following someone we met here to it."

"Okay then?" J'on said, taking one good look at Nigel. J'on whispered to Phane, "What's with that guy?"

"You might want to talk to that kid about not talking to strangers," J'on said.

"I'm pretty sure he knows what he's doing," Phane said, "besides, I feel bad for anyone stupid enough to take him for granted."

"Is this guy stupid enough?"

"Not sure if he's stupid, or insane."

Link, Phane, and J'on all followed Nigel, who was setting a brisk pace. He was also humming some weird tune to himself as he walked, and seemed to tune everyone else out.

"So what do you know about Chesgrove?" Link asked Phane, depending on him to be his guide again.

"It's a small village, but is known for having a nice inn that even has a hot spring," Phane said, "Other than that, it's not anything out of the ordinary. Just a nice, relaxing forest village."

"Sounds like it is," Link said.

"And with the money we now have... we can all take advantage of it," Phane said, "Might be nice to relax for a night before getting to the city."

"Sounds like a plan," Link agreed. It would be nice to actually relax for a night, rather than get captured and beaten to a bloody pulp like what happened last time... or get thrown in jail, which also happened recently.

Sure enough, Nigel was right, and they arrived in Chesgrove within an hour. The night had fully set in, and the town was lit up by several torches and lanterns. It looked inviting.

"This is Chesgrove?" Link said, looking around at the people still wandering the streets. This town might have been small, but it was definitely a lively and peaceful place.

"You like it?" Nigel said, "I was thinkin' about bein' a chef here."

"You're a chef?" Link asked. Nigel didn't look like a chef.

"Aye, one of the best around too," Nigel said, "No one can bake a pie like me, laddie."

"Sounds interesting," Link said, and saw Phane walk up beside him.

"Well, we should see if the inn's got some vacancies, eh?" Phane said, looking at J'on, "I think we can figure something out with you as well."

"Already have," J'on said, pulling a long hooded cloak out of one of the bags, and putting it on, concealing him totally. He looked like a regular monk now.

"Good enough," Link said, and then dismounted Epona. They walked over to the inn, which looked like the rest of the buildings in the town: dark wood exterior with a gilded sign stating that it was the Chesgrove Inn. Link, J'on, Phane, and Nigel walked in to the hotel, and saw a receptionist working at a desk. This hotel was definitely one of the best Link has seen, with marble columns and ornate sconces. Valuable looking pottery was placed in appropriate areas, and several local paintings brought a nice relaxing, yet local atmosphere to the place.

"Yes, are there any rooms available?" Phane asked, "Hopefully a large one?"

"Yes, we have our most expensive suite available, with a hot spring as well," The receptionist said, "It is 700 rupees a night."

"Seven hundred?!" Link whispered loudly to himself. That was more than he had ever spent on a room before, which usually was around 10 or 15 rupees.

"We'll take it," Phane said, pulling out one of the very large bags of rupees retrieved from Epona.

Link looked off to the side and saw a man dressed in casual clothes staring at them, pretending like he was reading a book. When the man noticed, he shut the book and then walked quickly out of the hotel.

"Hmm..." Link said to himself, and then turned his attention back to Phane, who literally paid cash for the most expensive room in town.

"Did you have to unload all of that?" Link said, "I thought we were going to need that for the boat!"

"Relax, kid, we have plenty," Phane said, twirling the key around in his hand.

"Just how much is plenty?" Link asked, not knowing just how much money they had.

"We left with roughly 6 thousand," Phane said.

"SIX THOUSAND?!" Link exclaimed, nearly falling over in shock. That was a lot of money to be taking around at once.

The man Link spotted in the inn made his way to a small building on the street. He made sure Link didn't follow him, and then entered the building, and went through the hallway to his boss's office.

"Sir, we've got prime pickings at the inn tonight," The man said, "We're talking loaded. A few thousand rupees at least, I think."

"Really now..." The man's boss said, picking up a spear, "How many?"

"Three men and a boy," The man said, "They looked like adventurers who struck it big,"

"I wonder if they'll feel like paying up a little ransom for their youngest," The boss said, "Give them a little while to get comfortable, and then we'll strike. Essen would definitely welcome more profit, so let's give it to him."

"Yessir!"

The man left the room, and the boss sat down and started to sharpen his spear.

"Looks like I'll need you tonight after all..."

A/N: Well, there we go! Chapter 6 is complete, and off to chapter 7 we go! Hope you enjoyed and will forgive Phane's foul mouth

A/N: Well, this is just awesome. Finished chapter 6, (which really had NO action whatsoever), and now I am making up for said lack of action. These next few chapters are going to be REALLY action packed. Especially these next two, as I'm hoping to wrap up this whole arc in the next few chapters. Also, this might be one of the sillier chapters, but it's probably because I was in a good mood writing this. Also, sorry for the hiatus, employment reasons

Link and Phane stayed behind in the lobby while Nigel and J'on went their separate ways as well. All Link knew was that Nigel had somehow negotiated his way into their kitchen, and wasn't seen since. J'on, on the other hand, probably went to the room, but Link and Phane decided to stay back and talk for a little bit so they could actually plan just what to do since they didn't really have the opportunity to do so before.

"So once we get to Toryn City tomorrow, we have to make sure we get past the guards at the gate. There is only one way into the city, but chances are they probably know about us there right now," Phane said, "If we get in there, I have a contact there that we can go to."

"Do you trust him?" Link asked, "And do you think they might know about us here as well?" Link remembered the person he saw stare at them, and then decided to disappear afterwards. It could have been just a fluke, but he had learned to pay attention to things like that; something was up.

"I don't think they'll find out until we're long gone from here. This is a pretty isolated town after all," Phane said, sitting down at one of the chairs in the lobby. Link shrugged; he really didn't have a good feeling about staying at this place, and it showed.

"It's just... I saw a guy in the lobby who stared at us, and then ran off into the city once we pulled out the money for the room," Link said, "I really don't think it was a good idea to garner attention like that. He could be working for Essen."

"I know what you mean, but this is a small town; not much happens here," Phane said, "but hey, it does beat freezing out in a cave, right?"

"Guess so," Link said, "So once we're able to get a boat, do you think we'd be able to get to Hyrule by sea?"

"It depends, really. Just because it's the best way out right now doesn't mean it's the best means to get there," Phane said, "speaking of Hyrule, why do you want to go back so badly?"

"It's home," Link said, as if he was stating the obvious, "I've been traveling for almost three years. I just want to go home and see the friends I left behind."

"Yeah? Especially the girl who gave you that horse, right? I heard you mention something to Logan about the ranch earlier," Phane said, grinning slightly.

"I want to see all my friends there," Link said, "Don't you want to see it?"

"I don't really have too much of an attachment to it," Phane said.

"I'd like to know your opinion anyways."

"My opinion is that wherever you go, I go. Fair enough?"

"Fair enough," Link said, "It's been quite an eventful couple of days since we busted out of the city."

"You mean since you blew it up, right?"

"Accidents happen," Link said, grinning a little bit. He wasn't the best at being discreet when he had to improvise.

"Is that what happened when you crossed Essen for the first time?"

"I found myself in a bandit nest," Link said, "Essen was their leader, apparently."

"Bandits? I've heard of some setting up outside of Ninso, but I didn't think Essen would be leading them since he's Justiciar."

"You're right, it doesn't make much sense," Link said, "could it just be for money?"

"I don't think so. Essen has more of a lust for power than for money," Phane said, straightening his beard, "He's raising money for something."

"Hmmm..." Link said, "Speaking of bandits, do you think Bruiser could've been working for Essen?"

"Possibly, I just don't know how deep this little conspiracy goes," Phane said.

"Neither do I," Link agreed, "It would be interesting to find out though."

"Yes, it would be, but for now, we can at least relax for a night," Phane said, "Speaking of relaxing, I'm going to go get a drink. It's been too long. Want anything?"

"Well, have fun with that," Phane said, "And hey, we got the room with the hot spring. You might want to go check that out too before it gets too late."

"I probably will," Link said, "See you around."

Link left Phane, who was walking towards another room that had a tavern in it. He walked past a few other rooms, and then found a small library, with J'on sitting in the chair, still shrouded so no one could see his face, and reading a book.

"Didn't think I'd see you here," Link said, walking in.

"I figured I'd rather find something to do instead of hide out," J'on said, not looking up from the book he was reading, "Besides, it's relaxing."

"Everyone's been having a good time so far," Link said, sitting down in another leather seat.

"It's a definite improvement," J'on replied, flipping the page, "Need to take a break once in a while."

"Not sure if now's the best time though," Link said, "especially when people are still after me and Phane."

"I'm sure you two can avoid them," J'on said.

"You sure you want to be part of this? You're not wanted by Essen, we are," Link asked, shifting a little in his chair.

"And lose out on the adventure? Not a chance," J'on said, "Being wanted just makes things more interesting."

"I can't say I'm a fan of that," Link said, "I prefer to avoid conflict most of the time."

"As do I, but I'm bored of settling down in some obscure cave," J'on said, "Being out in the wild, and watching you two do your thing has been quite refreshing."

"I'm glad," Link said, standing up, "I'm debating on whether or not I should visit Nigel, but I doubt he'll be in the mood to talk since he managed to negotiate himself into their kitchen earlier. They just let him right in; I know he's a chef and all, but this is one heck of an inn. It's odd that they would let some random weird person in to cook for them."

"Perhaps he's secretly famous," J'on said, "Although I have no idea how. Then again, I'm not really in the chef's social circle."

"Nothing with that man makes sense," Link said, "But you all seem to be relaxing just fine with whatever it is you all do."

"And I take it you aren't," J'on said, finally making some eye contact.

"Right, see you later," Link said, leaving the room and heading off for the tavern, where Link caught the scent of yeast. Whatever was being made in the kitchen, it smelled really good. Link walked down and saw Phane drinking at the bar, and then saw the kitchen in the back, and saw Nigel place out a pie to cool.

"Hey, laddie!" Nigel said, catching Link's attention. He was wearing a chef's hat and coat, but still looked out of place. Link still didn't get how he managed to start cooking for them.

"Aye, have fun with that," Nigel said, "Ol' Nigel's gonna get back to bakin'. Pie needs coolin' off anyways."

"Thanks, Nigel," Link said, walking off and letting Nigel do his own thing. After walking around the Inn a little bit more, Link decided to head back to the room and relax before going to sleep. He wasn't used to staying in expensive places before, so even though he had traveled extensively, it was different now.

He made his way back to the room, and unlocked it with his own key. He saw that their bags had been separated for each of them, and there were four queen-sized beds in two separate bedrooms, a common room, and the exit to the hot springs.

"Hmm," Link said, walking into his own room and sat on the bed. He lit a candle, and sat there for a little while, before taking his boots and jacket off. It was getting late, but he still didn't feel tired. Snow was starting to fall outside again, but steam radiated off of the hot springs like it didn't even matter.

"Better late than never," Link said, standing up, and walking out to the hot springs. It was definitely cool outside, but the heat radiating from the water left him with an interesting sensation.

Link walked back inside, and back to his room, where he changed into a pair of shorts he had, and grabbed a towel.

He walked back out to the hot springs, and stepped in, and sighed when the hot water immediately comforted him against the cold weather, and he waded in. Soon, he was chest height in the water, so he waded over to a place where he could sit. After sitting down, he stared at the sky, which was dimly lit because the moon was obscured by the clouds, and torches circled the whole hot spring.

"I can get used to this," Link said, "Definitely."

Meanwhile

All of the Chesgrove bandits were readying themselves for their raid of the Inn, something that they were really looking forward to. The inn always had a good influx of money, and they were scouting it for the best time to strike, and since Link and company showed up with several thousand rupees, it was worth it to strike now.

"Okay, boys," the boss said, "The group we're raiding is a small bunch of adventurers. Three men and a boy, precisely. We go in, take what we can, and also kidnap the boy for ransom. Clean and simple."

The bandits readied their weapons and headed out with their boss, to the hotel. The didn't have very far to go, since their base was down the street, and started their attack. There were only about fifteen of them, but they were heavily armed and had the element of surprise.

At the bar...

Phane was enjoying the first beer he had had in months. He figured he would at least celebrate his freedom finally with one, so he made it a goal to at least get one while they were still relaxing at the hotel. Link had since left for the room after talking to Nigel, so he was by himself. He sipped his beer, and then looked to his right, where he saw two women who appeared in their early to mid 20's sitting at the bar as well. He raised his glass to them, and then started sipping on his beer again. He finished his beer, and saw that the women that had just sat down were replaced by two men.

Phane double checked his beer, and then blinked. He looked back at the men, and noticed that they definitely were scraggy looking, and rough.

"Lady, you just got a hell of a lot uglier," Phane said, noticing that they were armed. They weren't at the bar for the drinks. The bandits pulled out their swords, and Phane reacted by throwing the beer mug at one of them, hitting the bandit in the head. Several more bandits came in behind Phane, and they circled around Phane, while some ran into the kitchen.

"Just can't catch a damn break, can I?" Phane said to himself as a group of 5 circled around him, "All right, what do you all want?"

"We're here for the goods, boy," One of the bandits said, "Pay up, or we'll take the kid."

"Who says I'm traveling with anyone?" Phane said, trying to bluff his way out of a situation so he could get his friends out of a dangerous situation. These bandits reminded him of the ones working for Bruiser back in Clearwater.

"Oh, come on," One of the bandits said. The bandit's clothes were different than the other's, but he didn't appear to be the head honcho, maybe a number two. "We know you showed up with three others, including a boy."

"And you think you'll be able to get to him?" Phane said, internally laughing at their ignorance. Sure, Link was taken by Bruiser, but he did manage to take out a whole bandit syndicate back in Ninso, and whooped up on the other bandits after him.

"Just a harmless boy? Nah, we won't have trouble. You will, though," The bandit said, pointing his sword at Phane, who got himself into a guard too. These bandits definitely seemed to be aching for a fight.

"I know that kid," Phane said, "I can describe him with several different words, but harmless isn't one of them."

"We'll see about that," the bandit said, and gave the signal to charge Phane...

In the Kitchen

Nigel had finished cooking another pie, but then several bandits stormed the kitchen, and pushed several of the other cooks out of there, who ran off screaming. Nigel turned around, and saw several bandits pointing swords at him.

"Oh, look who it is!" One of the bandits said, "I thought we locked your ass in a chest!"

"Aye," Nigel said, backing up to one of the wood ovens, and grabbing the towel off of the oven, holding a pie in his other hand, "What do you want?"

"We're after that fortune you and your new friends seemed to hit," the bandit said, "and we were ordered to take the kid."

"I can't let you do that, now," Nigel said. I've got to warn him... Nigel thought, knowing that Link was in danger. Nigel spotted the back door out of the kitchen that led behind the hot springs. There was a staircase, where several lanterns were hooked up on a rope that surrounded the hot springs.

"What're you going to do about it, chef?" The bandit taunted, "Going to pie me to death?"

"Nah, I let it cool too much," Nigel said, and then rolled up the towel, and slapped the sword out of one of the bandit's hands. The other bandits stabbed at him, but Nigel started throwing several pots and pans at them, before settling on hitting a bandit in the head with a flour bag, knocking the bandit out and distracting the other bandits where were lost in the makeshift smokescreen. Nigel grabbed the pie he finished baking, and got ready to throw it at them, but they were still lost in the flour cloud, so he grabbed a knife in his other hand, and ran out the back door, and up the stairs. He then cut the rope, and realized he had enough clearance to swing over to where Link was. He spotted Link in the hot springs, and swung with one hand over, apparently forgetting that he had a pie in his hand.

He landed straight in the hot springs, causing Link to jump back in surprise when he saw Nigel come out from the water with a knife around his belt and a pie in his hand.

"Nigel..." Link said, catching his breath, pointing at Nigel angrily, "What the hell are you doing?"

"I had tell you that we've got some visitors," Nigel replied, shaking water out of his hair.

"... What are you holding?"

"I forgot I had this..." Nigel said, then looking at the now soaked pie in his hand, "...Would you like some soggy pie?"

Link heard Nigel say that, and immediately found himself underwater as he fell over in shock from what he heard. He then felt himself being grabbed out of the water by his leg, and hoisted up out of the water.

"Laddie, we don't have time for swimming," Nigel said, holding Link upside down by his leg out of the water, "we've got bandits."

"Bandits?" Link said, blinking, "Is that what you were trying to tell me?"

"Aye, my head was just spinning after I landed," Nigel said, "They're after you."

"M-me?" Link said, looking up at Nigel. Nigel then dropped Link back in the water, and Link came back up himself and stood up.

"Must be because of that guy I saw earlier when Phane shelled out all those rupees," Link said, "Okay, Nigel, thanks for the warning." Link walked into the room, and put a shirt on, and then the door crashed open, causing Link to get into a defensive stance. Four bandits came in, with their leader holding a spear right at Link.

"Well, kid," the leader said, "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way." Then bandits were all way bigger than Link was, and were armed with longswords and wearing light armor. However, Link had the advantage because of his speed and agility.

"Do you all seriously think that you all can intimidate me?" Link said, reaching behind his back where his sword usually was. It wasn't there.

"Looking for something?" One of the bandits said, holding up Link's sword that was next to the door.

"Heh, I don't need it," Link said, trying to keep his cool. Like he had told Phane, he wasn't good at much more than his sword and a bow, so he had to escape from them somehow instead of fight them off, "4 versus 2 isn't the worst odds I've seen, right Nigel?" Link turned around, where he thought Nigel was, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Nigel..." Link angrily said to himself, "Dammit, Nigel..." He then saw a trail of footprints ending at the privacy fence of the hot spring, where it was obvious Nigel climbed over.

Link looked back at the bandits, who had burst out laughing at Link's predicament.

"You were saying?" the bandit leader said, pointing his spear at Link again.

"Great..." Link said, grinning gingerly. This wasn't going to be easy. The bandits all scrambled after him, but Link managed to avoid being grabbed as he made a dash for the same fence that Nigel climbed over...

In the library...

J'on never heard any of the bedlam coming from outside. The doors and walls were thick in the library, so not much sound made its way into the room. He was through his third book when two bandits knocked the doors down. J'on looked up and saw two bandits in front of him, staring him down. They didn't see that he was a Lizalfo, so that was an advantage already.

"Can I... help you?" J'on said, closing his book.

"Shut it, monk, we ask the questions," one of the bandits said, pointing his sword at J'on. J'on stood up, and took off his hood, making the bandits confident gaze turn into a look of sheer terror.

"Well then, ask away," J'on growled, taking off his gloves as well...

Back to Link...

Link had made it over the fence, and regrouped with Nigel, who was waiting for Link.

"Why'd you leave me, Nigel?!" Link shouted at Nigel, who was running alongside him out into the main hallway.

"I figured I'd help find a means of escape since you didn't have your weapon, laddie," Nigel said, explaining his thought process.

"Just... stay with me," Link said, "I can't take these guys on without a sword."

"Aye, right behind you," Nigel said. They opened the door to the hallway, and found it empty, but shouts were still being heard where J'on was.

Link and Nigel nodded to each other, and ran towards the library, where they found J'on uncovered, and sitting back in the chair. Link and Nigel walked in and saw two bandits knocked out and piled on top of each other with several books on them from where they were thrown into a book shelf.

"I doubt it's just you," J'on said, "I'll deal with anyone that follows you; you two go regroup with Phane; I think he needs some help."

"Right," Link said. He had all the confidence in the world with J'on's abilities. He didn't know just what abilities they were, but he didn't want to know. He picked up a sword and beckoned Nigel to follow him.

Link and Nigel headed off to the bar area, where they had last seen Phane, and saw him fighting off the last of the mob that had attacked him. One bandit stabbed at Phane's back, but Phane dodged it, and backed up out of the bar to Link and Nigel.

"I see those bandits got a surprise," Phane said, still in his guard. He had fought them off just fine, but hadn't knocked anyone out yet.

"Yeah," Link agreed, readying his sword. The bandits readied their weapons, and Nigel picked up a curtain rod to use as a weapon.

The bandits backed up slightly, and then heard a horn sound loudly from outside.

"What the hell is that?" Phane said, and then saw all the bandits run off, and commotion was heard from the front door. Phane, Link, and Nigel ran out the front door and found the bandit leader with some of his lackeys running off with the rupee bags and some other belongings from their room. The bandits mounted horses, and Link and Phane ran out and saw that they had escaped into the night. Link looked to his right and noticed that Epona was no longer there.

"We need that money back," Phane said, "Let's find Epona."

"Right," Link said, "That won't be too hard. All I have to do is call her with my oca..." Link searched his pockets for his Ocarina that was noticeably missing, and went pale when he couldn't find it. "Rina..."

Link looked up at Phane, wide eyed, and then bolted for the room, leaving Phane behind.

"What the..." Phane said, chasing Link back into the hotel. He got to the room, and saw Link was nervously ransacking the room after the bandits had their way with it.

"Link, are you... okay?" Phane asked. He had never seen Link this frantic before.

"Why are you worrying about this right now?" Phane asked, genuinely not knowing just what Link had. Link came out of the room with an annoyed expression on his face.

"That ocarina was from the Princess of Hyrule," Link said, "And now those damn bandits have taken it along with all of our money because YOU decided to draw attention."

"Hey, I wanted to give us a relaxing night after our whole ordeal back in Clearwater. And since when are you in the company of the PRINCESS of Hyrule?"

"Since I was ten. And now I have lost a Royal Heirloom to a bunch of bandits thanks to you," Link growled. He was really angry that this was happening, and Phane was the best target for his anger at the moment.

Nigel walked in and saw Link and Phane bickering loudly, and Link was holding an empty bag to prove a point. Their bickering got even worse, and Nigel felt like he had to step in.

"Laddies, I don't think this is the best time for arguing..." Nigel said.

"SHUT UP NIGEL!" Link and Phane yelled at the same time. Link and Phane stopped, and glared at each other, and then sighed.

"We need our stuff back, but with the snow as heavy as it is, I don't think we're going to be able to track them," Phane said, "Dammit..."

"I know," Link said, kicking one of the empty bags into the air, with Nigel catching the bag in the background, "What the hell can we do then?"

"There are the two men J'on introduced himself to earlier you could talk to..." Nigel chimed in. Link looked back at Nigel, and nodded.

"He's right, we do have the two bandits J'on took care of earlier," Link said, "They could probably be convinced to tell us where they're based."

"I have a feeling that it won't be that hard to... 'convince' them..." Phane said, cracking a small devious grin, "After all, I'm sure J'on made a good impression on them."

"Let's go, we don't have much time," Link said, running off to the library. Phane followed him to the library, and saw J'on reading.

"Hey, J'on, those bandits made off with a lot of our belongings, including Link's Ocarina; we need to figure out where they're based," Phane said. J'on looked up, and then back down at the bandits.

"Well, that should be interesting..." J'on said, and flashed a toothy, devious grin...

15 MINUTES LATER...

"BY THE GODS, DON'T KILL ME!" pleaded a terrified bandit. Link and Phane looked in from the hallway with horrified looks on their faces.

"Don't tempt me, I haven't eaten all day," J'on said, lighting a torch with his breath.

"J'on is really scary when he wants to be," Link said, watching J'on interrogate the bandits. All he had done was simply speak to the bandits, who were tied up in chairs; no physical harm had been dealt to them yet.

"You noticed that, huh," Phane said, quoting their scaled friend as he stared in amazement on how fast he 6 had gotten through to these people. Granted it was probably quite easy because seeing a toothy, talking red lizalfo was probably not an experience people trained for.

A/N: Sorry I took so long with this chapter, but I've been multitasking for the past 6 months with other projects. Well, now I'm back, so I'll be trying to get quicker about this. To appease my readers, here is some soggy pie.

ALSO, whoever finds the Army of Darkness reference, you win a free high five!